Suffering is arguably God's choicest tool in shaping the character of Christ in us.

When we hurt, God doesn't always give us lots of words; he gives us the Word; the Word made flesh who is intimately acquainted with our grief and suffering. That's what helps the most.

The Psalms wrap nouns and verbs around our pain better than any other book.

Every Christian who keeps looking up stretches his heart's capacity for Heaven.

The weaker we feel, the harder we lean on God. And the harder we lean the stronger we grow.

True, God hates Alzheimer's, spinal cord injury, mental illness, autism, and the rest (these conditions are all symptoms of the Fall). Yet he permits these things to accomplish something far more precious in our lives: patience, endurance, compassion for others who hurt, and refined faith and trust in God, to name a few.

My longings are best met when, in prayer, I simply let my heart beat in time with the Lord's.