"Living with Pain"

Hey faithful followers of this blog.  Sorry for the lack of posting lately.  I have been busy at work writing a book called "Surviving Life's Mud Puddles".  I am hoping to have it completed by the end of June and ready to publish.  I have been test piloting the book this spring with a group of friends at my church to get feedback. I thought you might enjoy reading a portion of their favorite chapter so far.  Enjoy the read.  I am hoping to begin writing on here lots more this summer.  I love you all dearly.

Living to leave a legacy,
Julie

CHAPTER nine

Living with Pain

“…but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” 

Philippians 3:13 (NLT)

When my boys were little they had this weird fascination with Band-Aids. I couldn’t keep the cabinets stocked with enough of them.  They kept disappearing.   We were constantly running out and I couldn’t figure out why.  As I investigated, I discovered that my boys had been raiding the boxes daily.  They had a unique philosophy when it came to Band-Aids. They thought that anytime they hurt, that a Band-Aid placed on the injured area would immediately heal them and take away all of their pain….interesting concept.

I observed their theory in action several times to try to understand their reasoning.  When they would get a bump, bruise, or scratch, they cried their eyes out and immediately stopped the minute the Band-Aid was placed in position.  Wallahhhh… they were healed!   I wish it were true!  This thinking seems a little silly, but some of us see God in the same light. We hurt and therefore we want Him to immediately put a Band-Aid on it and take all of the pain away.

It is inevitable that we will face pain some time in our lives. It could be the pain of a broken relationship, hurtful words, a miscarriage, financial hardship, disease, death, an injustice, or a physical pain that won’t go away. When we face pain, we can relate most to Jesus and how He felt on the cross. He was willing to suffer and to do whatever it took to build a bridge for us to get to God.  Jesus understands pain.  He can relate. 

There have been many times in my journey that I wished I could put a Band-Aid on my life and see it immediately healed.  It would be awesome to see all the hurt go away in an instant.  It’s a nice idea, but it doesn’t always happen that way. God doesn’t promise to take away all of our pain.  He does promise, however, to walk beside us through all of life’s difficulties and carry us when it’s too hard for us to go on. 

John 16:32-33 says…

“But I'm not abandoned. The Father is with me. I've told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world." (MSG)

Instead of bringing our pain to God, we generally choose to carry it on our own.   Our world is filled with broken people carrying invisible hurts.  We can’t always see the evidence of emotional wounds, but they are just as real as physical injuries.  Pain is pain no matter how it masks itself.  It is harmful and damaging if it is not treated.