WOW! Life is absolutely fascinating! From the good all the way to the bad! So remarkable how even in the midst of a horrific time, we are blessed with gifts.
As hard as it is for even me to swallow most of the time,the ability to feel PAIN is a gift.


Whether it's physical, emotional, or spiritual! God shows us that in so many absolutely amazing ways,it's really kind of eerie!

I have no idea why God has put this on my heart to share. ButI feel overwhelmingly compelled to remind us of this sometimes forgotten, alot of times despised, most of the time mistaken gift.....pain.

Especially at this time of year when life seems to be, for most of us, very bittersweet! Seriously! I'm not meaning to make light of people being Bipolar( I have family members who have it) but I'm telling you if the majority of us ran ourselves through testing at this particular time of year I would imagine we would all be diagnosed with it!!!!

Anyways all I'm trying to say is, let's not so flippantly in anger, brokenness,or by mistake, overlook the gift of pain. When we allow God to fully disciple us we will without a shadow of doubt see the gift we indeed have with pain.

Starting with the most obvious...Physical pain. What if you or someone you loved dearly, had the rare disorder called "congenital insensitivity to pain" People who are born without the ability to feel pain. For example: children who have this disorder can touch a hot iron causing severe damage without feeling one ounce of pain! Man! what a horrific saddness!

You would see in this circumstance that pain would be a gift right?
It just puts my stomach in knots thinking about the constant struggles of raising a child with this disorder.

Lets talk about emotional pain. Rejection in any form can bring emotional pain. While I have been through some turbulent times, I am no where near being an expert in this area! However, I do know enough to see that in every experience of emotional pain I have been through, I valued the gift of the pain I was allowed to feel!

Sure there were times while in the midst of it all, it did not feel like a gift! Then there were other times, that (I truly believe) because I allowed God to totally be in complete control, that I was undeniably able to only focus on the deep,severe pain...and have an absolute peace.

Spiritual pain has both emotional and physical pain...The birth and death of Jesus.

What about hunger pains. Would you catagorize it into physical? I see it as all three. I believe there are some words we misuse alot! I have really been trying to work on the use of the word love.

Think about it. Sometimes we say oooh I LOVE hot dogs. Do you really want to put hotdogs on the same level as a child, a spouse, a parent?
Can hot dogs love us back(NO! they aren't even good for us in many ways!)
(but I do still eat them)

Well, I believe we also misuse the word starving! Think about that one! We have all been there. You skip breakfast for whatever reason..you've been extremely busy...now it's one o'clock and your stomach is growling...usually the first words are..Man I need something to eat, I'm starving!

We are not allowed to say starving or bored in our home! I hate those words!( I wish I was as adement on other things as well, then we would have perfect home!)

Anyways, just a few rambling thoughts from a simple lady with such a complex heart!

Today I challenge us to touch a hot iron(not in a damaging way) and pray for families who bear the burden of the disorder of "congenital insenitivity to pain" or for those who have been paralyzed.Praise God we can feel.

When praying for your self or others don't ask God to take away the pain and hurt they are going through, but to give them a peace or strength to endure, and allow the pain to give them the ability to identify with someone else, or to help us remember to be humble. Only God is Almighty, we are not!

When we find ourselves in the middle of spiritual pain, use this time to allow the gift of community to show us God's goodness! Make sure your in a small group that gives you a Godly avenue to grow in your faith in the middle of your struggle of pain or unbelief!

Next time you feel really hungry, allow your self to go just a little longer without eating, and then pray for those who are truly starving for food and water, or for love and acceptance, or even worse....for a savior!

Allow the gift of pain to empower you not to immobilize you!