Suffering: When Theology and Reality Clash

I suppose not for the first, or the last, time, I'm thinking about suffering. It's always been around me, and you, but sometimes, it presses closer to the people you love, which causes pain and a sense of powerlessness, and then to yourself, which can make you forget that suffering is the road to sanctity. It seems counterintuitive, but there it is. I have to hold fast. We have to hold fast. Christ joined us in our suffering to transform it. A paradox that only constant immersion in the faith can reveal and demonstrate. It ain't easy, is it?