Pain = Growth

One thing I KNOW for sure is that Pain is an outstanding catalyst for growth.

We have all experienced some kind of pain in this life. The pain of loss, the pain of loneliness, the pain of change, the pain of ____. (You fill in the blank)Even the pain of my training has affected my personal growth.

When I had a miscarriage 3 1/2 years ago I was in agony. I thought that after almost a decade of the pain of infertility and then 2 healthy babies I God wouldn't "make me" go through something like that. I was livid. I felt Him near me in the process of grief, but it wasn't until I let loose with my anger (I actually screamed an obscenity at Him) that He enveloped me with His presence so fully that I about fell over in awe. I concluded that He just wanted me to be really honest with Him and myself about my pain and how I REALLY felt. That release of the anger, grief and despair not only gave me a deeper and more thorough understanding of His love for me, but also a tangible experience with my Beloved. Since then, when I am in pain or struggling with something, I take a minute to really ask Him to help me be honest with myself and Him, and then I pray and watch Him bring about the growth and healing He had planned.

He hates it when we are in pain. Since we live here, not in Heaven yet, we will have pain, but He is always there to meet us in it. If you are in pain, a simple headache or a major heart ache, allow Him to meet you in it. He will not leave you to figure it out for yourself. Unless that is what YOU choose.