The Fellowship of Suffering

This week my colleagues and I traveled to our region headquarters for a dreaded quarterly review. During the review we recap our results - sales, key performance indicators, etc., and the initiatives we have in place for the upcoming quarter. It doesn't sound too bad, right?

Well trust me, it's no picnic - mainly due to the fact that regardless of what you've accomplished or how hard you've worked, you're in danger of embarrassment or worse from our region's head man. He's the kind of guy that believes in tough love - and that's putting it mildly. We'd all rather have a root canal than a quarterly review.

I was pondering the value of these quarterly exercises on my drive home Wednesday afternoon. We'd heard that we were the only region in our area doing a review this quarter, and I spent some time thinking about the value. It did occur to me that in this economy there's something to be said for keeping your foot on the gas peddle. We do need to be sure we're striving toward the right things and doing the right things in the right way.

But there's a greater value that my colleagues and I realize, and that's the fellowship of suffering. Maybe it sounds crazy, but we've been doing these together for several years. Each time it's excruciating. But something happens between us and among us as we suffer through them together. We bond. In fact, I've never been a part of a team as personally committed to each other as we are. I think that suffering together has a lot to do with it.

Most Americans spend a good deal of time and energy attempting to avoid suffering. I'm guessing that most of the world's people accept suffering as an inevitable part of life. Not Americans. The American Dream is a dream that we have enough of everything - money, health, knowledge, etc. to avoid unpleasantness. Life's better that way - right?

Maybe not. I think there's something to be said for the fellowship of suffering. Years from now when I look back on my life, I'll treasure those days spent in a windowless room toiling and laughing and praying (yes, praying) with my friends as we prepare to give an accounting of our efforts of the previous quarter.

In the same way, maybe our country will look back on these days of economic uncertainty and belt tightening as some of our best times. Times to be together, to learn to watch out for one another, to toil and laugh and pray together for the future - to share our humanity. Let's enjoy this time - these are the good ole days.