Accepting

For a class, I had to read an article related to a topic that we were going to cover yesterday. The article I chose was "Acceptance of the unpleasant reality of chronic pain: effects upon attention to pain and engagement with daily activities." I actually enjoyed reading this and presenting it because I realized that this is true in a religious aspect. What this article talks about is that when chronic pain patients accept pain, accept that there is no cure, and stay optimistic, you are less likely to pay attention to pain and feel less pain. So how can we infer this to religion?

We believe in opposition in all things, right? If we believe that we have to experience sorrow to know happiness, why do we try so hard to push sorrow away from our lives? If we need to be tempted (but not necessarily give into temptations) to be strong, why do we try to shun temptations? It's contradicting. I am not saying that we should be sad or give into temptations; however, I am saying that we should make them a part of our lives. Let them stay where they are! Accepting the fact that you have temptations only make you strong because you are not giving into temptations but moving on with your life and choosing to be obedient.

We should also accept God's will instead of fighting against it. All I know of His will is that He wants me to be happy, to get married, and to raise my children uprightly before Him. So why should I be bothered by something I can't control? Why should I be bothered by how a girl might or might not feel about me? I can't change how she feels about me. I can't read her mind. All I can do is "do my best and leave the rest to [God]."

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