unearned suffering is redemptive

 

My personal trials

have also taught me the value

of unmerited suffering. As my sufferings mounted

I soon realized that there were two ways that I could respond

to my situation: either to react with bitterness or seek to transform

the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter

course. Recognizing the necessity for suffering I have tried to

make of it a virtue. If only to save myself from bitterness,

I have attempted to see my personal ordeals as an

opportunity to transform myself and heal the

people involved in the tragic situation which

now obtains. I have lived these last few

years with the conviction that

unearned suffering is

redemptive.

 

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.