Illustration of Suffering

I donated platelets yesterday. Fortunately, my iron level was right on the dot and I was eligible to donate.

For those who have never donated blood, there are different ways you can donate. You can donate whole blood, platelets and/or plasma or double red blood cells. To donate platelets or any other part of the blood, there is a machine called an apheresis machine that separates the blood and gives you back what you aren't donating.

If you haven't donated, I highly recommend to do it if you're eligible because it's an easy way to give back to the community and help save lives. For example, platelets are in patients undergoing chemotherapy. It means more than words can say to have a chance to donate. I don't know who receives my donation, but I do know it's making a difference in someone's life.

Donating platelets takes about two hours, so I watched a movie while donating. I chose to watch Life of Pi.

I don't want to give away too much of the movie, but I will say that it is a brilliant and beautiful illustration of how God works amidst horrible, scary and tiring circumstances. In its own way, it describes suffering. I believe it shows the beauty that can come from suffering. After watching the movie, I watched a video on Youtube that explained the deeper meaning of the movie, from one point of view.

Believing in God doesn't mean that bad things won't happen to you...[but] the belief in God can prevent you from being consumed by that evil.

I believe that God gives us difficulties in our lives to make us stronger. Each of us goes through times when we feel like giving up or we feel frustrated, angry and tired. But believing in God helps us to keep going, keep moving forward despite the challenges. Going through trials is a reminder that we are all human and we all suffer. It draws us together.

Suffering is part of the human condition. I am moving forward in my life to a point that I am learning not to be consumed by the past, by the awful things I've been through. I'm trying to look past all of that and move forward into the beautiful plan that God has for my life.