Having had happier, way better days the past months, I've been thinking about nothing less than happy thoughts. Been writing 'bout them, too. I miss writing and that's probably why I've written several notes given several thesis-free weeks. Making the most of the time is more like it. And if I were to be given more time before thesis starts, I'd gladly write some more. But since this is officially my last thesis-free weekend, I've been wanting to write one last note before the schedules get all tight and hectic. So there... I've been thinking of what to write about before I take a leave from my stress reliever. There's something I would've wanted to really write about but I'm not sure I'm ready to share it in detail to all of you so I'm gunna have to crush that one out until further notice. Now that leaves me hanging still... What to write about? Been literally staring at the ceiling waiting for thoughts to arrive. Having had lots of free time after class and still no thesis to write, I also have lots of time to be idle, bum around, and literally do nothing but think about more stuff than I would want to think of. Then out of the blue, another light bulb moment of mine occurred as I saw my favorite book, Where is God When it Hurts?. I suddenly know what to write about... something I haven't written about lately... PAIN.
A month before my break-up from the last serious relationship that I had, I coincidentally bought the book as a Christmas present for myself as if I already know I’d be needing it. I haven't read it until after the break-up because I was looking for answers, explanations, rationalizations, and whatever enlightenment I can find. Having read the entire book, I found more than what I was searching for. I had more answers than I needed and it gave me more enlightenment than I would’ve wanted. It opened not only my eyes to a lot more things but my heart as well. I cannot tell you every detail of what I read cuz I can’t present it like Philip Yancey can but if there’s one thing I learned by heart, it’s this: pain is a gift. Yes, you read that right. IT IS A GIFT.
However useless we find pain to be, we can’t turn it off no matter how desperately we want to. It’s not a curse like what we all think.
A month before my break-up from the last serious relationship that I had, I coincidentally bought the book as a Christmas present for myself as if I already know I’d be needing it. I haven't read it until after the break-up because I was looking for answers, explanations, rationalizations, and whatever enlightenment I can find. Having read the entire book, I found more than what I was searching for. I had more answers than I needed and it gave me more enlightenment than I would’ve wanted. It opened not only my eyes to a lot more things but my heart as well. I cannot tell you every detail of what I read cuz I can’t present it like Philip Yancey can but if there’s one thing I learned by heart, it’s this: pain is a gift. Yes, you read that right. IT IS A GIFT.
However useless we find pain to be, we can’t turn it off no matter how desperately we want to. It’s not a curse like what we all think.
Think of the lepers and how important pain is to them. Lepers are unable to feel even a slightest sense of pain, causing them to injure themselves without them knowing. They can cut their fingers off and not even be aware of it because, again, their nerve cells don’t send off warning to their brains. Just as there is no surgery, no procedure, no implant that can remove pain from a person’s system, nothing can embed it into a system either. Pain is but a natural way of telling our body that something isn’t going right. Thus, we get warned of what it might cause us and will serve as a defense mechanism.
Because of this book, I was able to see pain in a whole new and different viewpoint. I no longer think of it as a blight that should be avoided. Instead, it’s something we all should embrace because it’s God’s way of warning us that an intervention needs to be done, whatever it is, whether physical or emotional.
We all get hurt at some point in our lives and as much as we can, we will surely dispel it because for us, pain spells s-u-f-f-e-r-i-n-g. But think of the lepers once again and remember that their suffering is not caused by pain but by the sheer lack of it. Surely it’s an entirely different story but it only tells us one thing: pain does not signify misery. It, on the contrary, tells us to step out of it.
Since pain is all natural, there is no way we can ever stop it from happening. It will occur when it should even when we’re not ready for it. But instead of treating it as an affliction, we should consider it as a blessing that allows us to evaluate what is happening and avoid what should be avoided. Consider it as an eye-opener, an alarm, a signal… It's high time we see pain as a blessing and not a curse. =)
14 November 2009
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