Pain Has a Way
Ever been stopped in your tracks by pain. Our weekend hike of a few 4,000 footers was completely derailed by an intense backache. I rested, alternating ice and heat on my back, not exactly the path I wanted to be on. The beautiful weather was lost on me as I recovered from the agony of strained muscles.
What about you? Has some injury hindered your well-laid plans? Of course, this has many meanings, but let’s look at one: What if the ways we have been hurt by other’s words and actions are causing more suffering than necessary? What if I told you that you could resolve this struggle?
The most frustrating part of recovering is that there is truly little you can do to speed it up. If I could have just let go of the pain, I would have been on top of a mountain, or two! It is the same emotionally and relationally. We cannot just wish our irritations and misery away; we must name them and deal with them to find healing and a way forward.
If you are struggling, if you are resentful and hurt, or if unprocessed emotions are hindering you on your journey, it is time to find the reason and move beyond it. It will require honesty with yourself, so that you can mend some brokenness from the past and live today with joy and freedom. That is what this season is all about: change!
What about stepping out of pain’s way and finding a path to healing.
“Let us know ourselves, let us know our wounds, for then we shall be able to apply the medicines. For he who does not know his disease, gives no care to his weakness.”
~John Chrysostom