This particular moment in my personal life is relatively pain-free, and I was thinking about it the other day as I watched yet another person I know endure the pain of loss. As I sat, holding my daddy's hand, at the funeral for a dear family friend last Saturday, I could only think that three years ago it could've been his funeral. That pain that came with his brain injury was used by God in ways I'm sure I don't even know. I do know a small fragment of what it has taught me:
1. God is faithful. I watched as a doctor told my mom that my dad would either die or be a vegetable. No. Hope. That was not God's plan for us. If he had died, it would make God no less faithful, but my point is that God used his power to grow my faith. I have to be honest in saying that I did not believe that God was able to heal my father. Not really. I knew in my head that it was possible, but to me it was too big of a request to really ask God for healing. He did it anyway...for His own glory.
2. Family is precious. In times of the greatest pain, I have only had solace in my sweet family. In many ways, my family includes some dear friends as well. Where would we be without others to bear our burdens? This photo was taken shortly after my dad came home from months of rehab.
We were all there, celebrating his 67th birthday...a day we thought might never be. I cling to these moments in my mind as the most treasured. My family united to care for each other, and I will never forget the way we grew closer through tragedy. Allow others to share in your burdens.
3. Sometimes a season of pain can last a long time. You may be out of a job for a year, lose your dearest friend, or have to care for a sick family member. God told the Israelites to set up tents in the desert. They were to make their homes in their season of pain. He was no less faithful. His plan was still perfect. Trust Him and wait for Him to supply your daily needs as He supplied manna from heaven.
4. Worry doesn't change a thing. Worrying will not add a day to your life. The Bible says that fretting only leads to evil. The solution? "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Ps. 37:4 As much as I want to worry about the future when I think about the jobs we've lost and people who have hurt us, I think about God's love and faithfulness and have to trust Him.
5. Pain has a PURPOSE. I can't count the number of times I've met someone enduring the pain that I endured, and been able to really say, "I know how you're hurting, but God has a plan." Every moment of hurt I've endured has been life-altering. God uses pain to make us more like Him. Sharpening us, refining us, molding us into His image, drawing us closer to him in our desperation.
I decided to write this blog because in the last few weeks I've deeply felt the pain of dear friends, and I've carried their stories in my heart daily. Last week, our church-wide devotional featured a passage from Eph. 3 that has impacted me, and I hope you know that I'm praying it for all of you:
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
You have a purpose in your pain, and it's not to put on a brave face and pretend that everything is fine in your own strength. Your purpose is to allow the Spirit to move in you so that others can witness "how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ." Allow God to turn your hurt into holiness.
