A Question of Pain

Life equals pain.

And joy and love and hate and thrill and boredom and fear and excitement and story.

Story definitely includes pain.

It seems everywhere I turn, people are hurting.

Explanation as to the reasons for suffering have been thrown carelessly around, often adding yet another thorn or two, digging into the already raw wound life has produced.

I don’t understand.

I don’t understand why pain is so prevalent, but even more so, I don’t understand why people find the need to use inadequate word in effort to explicate the question of why, when simply reaching out a loving hand would impart an immeasurable extent of help.

When we must endure hardship, the question of why is a valid one. As long as we accept the reality that it will probably go unanswered.

But when others must bear a heavy load, action speaks louder than reason.  Perhaps we should concern ourselves more with when rather than get stuck in the why.

Everyone is involved in a story - a gritty, rubber-hits-the-road kind of story. Do we wish to enter into the story of our neighbour (who perhaps hides the scars of abuse from the hand of their spouse), the harried mother waiting in line at the grocery store (who perhaps secretly struggles with addiction), the stranger standing on a street corner begging for change (who perhaps gave up when his son was killed by a drunk driver)? Will we listen as we step onto the page and offer to walk alongside in the messy mire of mud? Or will we become an unintelligible and ineffective “hero”, devastatingly altering the story with the added baggage of explanation and opinion?   

I’m here to say this: Let’s join together in the story - in the joy and love and yes, in the pain. And rather than trying to explain it away, let’s love it away, because as strong as pain can be, absolute pure love will always trump it.

It is up to us to make that happen.

Us.

You and me.

Amen.

To privately contact me send message to susiewithans@gmail.com