Pain & Suffering

  pain is pain. regardless of the circumstances, it feels pretty much the same. while uncomfortable and certainly not desirable, it is inevitable. it's also unifying. it causes us to empathize. Empathy is: a deep emotional understanding of another's feelings or struggles. it's what enables us to comfort those who have experienced abuse or trauma, suffered the lost of a loved one, had their heart broken, even if specific circumstances aren't shared. pain is something we all can relate to. human beings also have the remarkable ability to forget pain. we can all remember it, but it's a cerebral memory, not a physical one. it's what enables women to go through childbirth again. to date again after a painful breakup. to trust people after a horrible betrayal.

  not only that, we can take comfort in the fact that Jesus experienced pain and suffering while on earth. though I doubt he was ever abused as a child, he comforts those who have been. as a human, he has walked in suffering, and shares ours today. if pain never produced anything life-giving, it would be too despairing. it has to produce something beautiful, or else it would all be, for what? nothing. take comfort in the fact that Jesus not only understands our pain, but he can always turn it around to produce something beautiful. even if it's hard to see in the midst of it, he will use it for good. that's a promise.