Suffering Primary School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Helen was two. All you had to do was ask her. "How old are you?""Two!" (The number of fingers accompanying this reply could vary.)In truth, being two is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/orthodixie\/2006\/11\/suffering-primary-school.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Suffering Primary School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Helen was two. All you had to do was ask her. "How old are you?""Two!" 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{"id":1261,"date":"2006-11-25T20:27:00","date_gmt":"2006-11-25T20:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/orthodixie\/2006\/11\/suffering-primary-school.html"},"modified":"2006-11-25T20:27:00","modified_gmt":"2006-11-25T20:27:00","slug":"suffering-primary-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/orthodixie\/2006\/11\/suffering-primary-school.html","title":{"rendered":"Suffering Primary School"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

H<\/span>elen was two. All you had to do was ask her. \u201cHow old are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo!\u201d (The number of fingers accompanying this reply could vary.)<\/p>\n

In truth, being two is hard. Barring extraordinary circumstances, during the ripe old age of two you enter the World of No<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Formerly, you lived in Yes World<\/em><\/strong> where everything you did was \u201cYes!\u201d<\/p>\n

You smile. Yes!
<\/em><\/strong>
Laugh. Yes!
<\/em><\/strong>
Stop crying. Yes!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Crawl. Yes!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Talk. Yes!
<\/em><\/strong>
Walk. Yes!
<\/em><\/strong>
Your every move and most waking moments is utterly adorable. Yes!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Then one day you entered discipline\u2019s door. Search as you may, the door to Yes World<\/em><\/strong> is, from that time forward, only a goal. Yes World<\/em><\/strong> has ambassadors, grandparents, teachers, and other wrinkled acquaintances. But the people you live with have apparently chosen, for the foreseeable future, to live in the World of No<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

You mark on the walls. No!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hit your brother. No!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Tear up the toilet paper. No!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Run through the parking lot. No!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Impersonate a beast in Church. No!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Eat all the chocolate. No!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

It would be easy to believe, as grandparents apparently do, that parents have lost all measure of charity. That\u2019s not exactly true. As the comic says, \u201cGrandchildren are God\u2019s way of rewarding you for not killing your children.\u201d In fact, all parents are familiar with the World of No<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Such struggles are also fleshed out in our spiritual lives.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe who enters into a covenant of prayer with the Father in the name of Christ has first to consign himself to \u2018Chastisement Kindergarten,\u2019 then to \u2018Suffering Primary School,\u2019 then to the \u2018Higher Institute of Affliction.\u2019 \u2018For it is fitting that he \u2026 should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering\u2019 (Heb.2.10). For it is impossible to share his glory without first sharing with him in his sufferings.\u201d<\/p>\n

So writes Matthew the Poor in his book, Orthodox Prayer Life: The Interior Way<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He continues: \u201cEveryone who wishes to be made perfect in faith has to be first made perfect and purified by the Spirit. He has to undergo the various kinds of discipline to become fit to witness to faith in God amidst sufferings and tribulations, and before the fiercest threats of death. For as one\u2019s sufferings bear witness to one\u2019s worthiness of glory, so will God also bear witness: \u2018Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world\u2019 (Mt 25.34).<\/p>\n

As you can see brothers and sisters, by God\u2019s mercy and charity \u2013 Yes World<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 still exists. Let us all, children unto Him, persevere in faith, hope, and love.<\/p>\n

This meditation originally appeared on the <\/em><\/span>Antiochian webpage<\/em><\/span><\/a>. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"