Pain

I've been thinking a lot about pain lately. Actually, to tell the truth, not thinking about it. Avoiding it. Trying to avoid feeling everything. Why? I don't know. I mean, I don't have very much pain in my life at all - a few things, but nothing major. But before this little bout, I had been thinking about it, in regards to how Jesus sees and treats our pain.

But today at church we talked about embracing pain. Worshiping in the midst of it, actually realizing it, and not blaming God. (See Job 1). And I really didn't want to think about it then, but I actually don't do any of the above, when I am experiencing pain, and I haven't worshiped, realized, or given God the glory when I have been truly joyful lately.

So, in regards to pain, I'd like to share some quotes from Grey's Anatomy, which deal with pain. And scars. And wounds. But also with healing.

From Grey's:

"In surgery, the healing process begins with a cut, an incision, the tearing of flesh. We have to damage the healthy flesh in order to expose the unhealthy. It feels cruel and against common sense, but it works. You risk exposure for the sake of healing, and when it's over, once the incision has been closed, you wait. You wait and hope that your patient will heal. That you haven't in fact, just made everything worse.

The first step toward a real cure is to know exactly what the disease is to begin with. But that’s not what people want to hear. We're supposed to forget the past that led us here, ignore the future complications that might arise and go for the quick fix.

The reality is that pain is there to tell us something.

We have to be willing to pick up that scalpel and make a cut that may or may not do more damage than good.

Not all wounds are superficial. Most wounds run deeper than you can imagine. You can't see them with the naked eye. And then there are the wounds that take us by surprise. The trick with any kind of wound or disease is to dig down and find the real source of the pain - and once you've found it, try like hell to heal that sucker.

People have scars. In all sorts of unexpected places. Like secret road maps of their personal histories. Diagrams of all their old wounds. Most of our wounds heal, leaving nothing behind but a scar. But some of them don't. Some wounds we carry with us everywhere and though the cut's long gone, the pain still lingers.

Maybe our old wounds teach us something. They remind us where we've been and what we've overcome. They teach us lessons about what to avoid in the future.

Because no matter how badly a thing is hurting us, sometimes letting it go hurts even worse.

Doesn’t matter how tough we are, trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us home, it changes our lives, trauma messes everybody up, but maybe that’s the point. All the pain and the fear and the crap. Maybe going through all of that is what keeps us moving forward. It’s what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little messed up, before we can step up."

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Whew, that was a lot of quotes. Thanks for sticking with me!

So, maybe the pain is there for a reason. And we definitely have reasons to worship God and give thanks in all circumstances. Pain can definitely be there to make us seek out God. And seek out others and healing. But it won't be solved right quick - it might take a while. Let me pray for patience then, too.

Right now, what I am saying is that I want to actually embrace both the pain and the joy in life, instead of just saying it is okay and moving on like nothing happened. Sometimes you need to cry and go through a whole box of tissues; to laugh so hard that you snort; to smile so much it hurts; to feel completely exhausted, and to wake up without an alarm clock; to be stressed to the max; to squeal with excitement, to cry happy tears; to love with all you have; to risk everything for God and for others.

Will it leave bumps and bruises? Definitely. Cuts and scrapes? A definite possibility. Minor flesh wounds? Perhaps. Scars? Yeah, probably a few. Broken bones? Hopefully not. Anything more serious? I pray not. Broken hearts? Maybe, maybe not. But no matter what, God is with us, and He is who He is - the I AM. And we can be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances. :) May we experience this! And do it!