I’ve been reading a popular fiction series over the past several weeks and I have to admit I’m quite engrossed by it. I used to read a lot of fiction but somehow over the years, I’ve gotten away from it and just recently I’ve been rediscovering how much I’ve missed reading it. I’m staying up till all hours of the night (which is not me!) because I feel compelled to keep reading. I just have to know what happens, how everything is going to turn out in the end!
As I began the second book of the series, something really devastating happened to the lead character and being the emotionally cathartic person I am, I felt every bit of pain and agony right along with her. It was excruciating at one point and I didn’t even know if I could keep reading. It was heartbreaking for me to continue but finally I did push through it because I had this deeply buried hope that it would somehow get better although I had no assurance that was going to happen.
At first I was angry with the storyline and the writer for making me go through this anguish, but by the end of the book, the storyline took an unexpected turn and I was elated by the end! I’ve been pondering my reaction to the whole thing and as I thought through the alternatives, I realized that although it was so painful, the conflict in this story was absolutely necessary. If the agonizing separation hadn’t occured there would be no joyful reunion. If the writer had left this part out of the story, I would have probably gotten bored and put the book down. All good stories have this ebb and flow of emotions. That’s why we love them! Adversity, challenges and conflict are absolutely essential. The excruciating part is that we don’t always know how it will turn out in the end. What if we don’t like the ending? That’s where anxiety and stress occur.
Whether in books or real life, conflict and struggle must come. It’s the pain and sadness that reminds us we’re human. I know the journey is hard sometimes but the difficulty and struggles are what make it good! I never consciously volunteer for the pain, but I’m finding there’s an underlying joy in the fact that if it starts to get bad, then it can only get better. And I know that is an inevitability! 
You are SO right Ronda! Many people are afraid of conflict and will do anything and everything to avoid it.
I’m a Christian chocolatier who understands “the painful process” called “tempering” – I have been “tempered” as “real” chocolate is. It’s a process. Destiny Image is following the chocolate allegory on Twitter.
But the reward for “getting through” is worth it! I see your a dreamer. Have you checked out http://www.interpretmydream.com? Streams Ministries trains people in the “Ancient Hebraic” method of interpreting dreams – in other words, Biblical dream interpretation. A class in dream interpretation is coming to Lancaster in September. See http://www.streamsministries.com for more information.