New Years Resolutions
December 28, 2009
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After suffering numerous broken bones, sprains, ligament tears, a rotator cuff explosion, and a torn knee, I’ve learned to develop a pretty high tolerance for pain. Physical pain, anyway. Emotional and spiritual pain, though? I’m still working on that.
If there is one thing that separates people from God, it’s the pain in their lives. And it doesn’t matter what that pain is. Acute arthritis hurts. So does the loss of a loved one. There are some who would attempt to rank one above the other, but I don’t think that’s possible. Pain is pain, and none of it is good. Period.
We work so we don’t have to feel the pain of hunger or wanting, love so we don’t have to feel the pain of loneliness, and play so we don’t have to feel the pain of stress. As citizens of the United States, we’re even told that we’re endowed by our Creator with the right to pursue happiness. To avoid pain.
I decided the other night to make the avoidance of pain my New Year’s resolution. Sounded good in theory, but not so good in the end. To hear why, hop on over to katdish’s blog. Who knows, maybe you’ll resolve to do the same thing I did in the end–hurt a little more, not a little less.
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I’m a writer whose first novel, Snow Day, will be published by FaithWords in 2010.
But don’t let that fool you. I’m just as confused as anyone.
And that is fine with me, because the great thing about wandering around in the fog is that you never know what you might run into.
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Oh Bill, just came back from Kat’s blog….man this just hit me on the head like she did her’s on the kitchen cabinetdoor.
So true, it’s God’s way to let us know feel hear and see to live in the moment. In the here and now. But I know the feeling I’m much like her too.
Thanks for introducing. Hugs Dagmar
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AMEN! I do NOT want to have “do overs” for any of the times of pain in my life, but I can say I am thankful for each time of intense pain. The heartache and pain in my life made me the person I am today. I am better for it.
Great post!
Blessings and prayers, andrea
Way too good, Billy. This hits way too close to home, and too close to what I had lined up for this Friday. Now that you’ve said it so much better than I can … pfft!
I read your posts here and on Kathy’s site. Whenever I have time to check in with you, you never let me down–always giving me something to think about. As someone way too familiar with pain, I’ve learned not to seek or run from it, but to endure and learn from it. What I’ve learned is that God is there for me. Always.
May He bless you with a wonderful 2010.
So, you know I just finished reading Have a little faith by Mitch Albom, right? Here’s a brief snippet of conversation between Mitch and Rabbi Lewis:
So, have we solved the secret of happiness?
“I believe so,” he said.
Are you going to tell me?
“Yes. Ready?”
Ready.
“Be satisfied.”
That’s it?
“Be grateful.”
That’s it?
“For what you have. For the love you receive. And for what God has given you.”
That’s it?
He looked me in the eye. Then he sighed deeply.
“That’s it.”
This made me think of something I wrote down once from one of your posts a while back, and which I pick up and read when things are so painful.
“More than praying for God to remove our obstacles is praying for Him to help us around and over and through them…”
Thank you Billy.
This was an insightful, thoughtful post. I’ve been feeling the same way about the seasons and winter. I’ve never been a fan of winter but when I see it through the lens of helping me to appreciate the change and flow of other seasons, it brough me a whole new appreciation for it.
Great post, Billy! Hope you had a merry Christmas.
Finding time to catch up on your blog, this post hit hard as I have been walking through a lot of emotional pain lately (and a lot of physical pain over the course of a few years). A friend recently said to me, “This can’t compare to what you’ve walked through…” And I told her how I’ve learned there are no comparisons. We all have our pain; it all hits at different levels, and we all grow in different ways from it. I don’t ever want to stop growing even though the pain is hard. In the pain we see what matters, because we see His face and all the lovely faces around us. Thanks for writing and for sharing Christ with us.
Billy,
I think pain does carry with it a purpose in our lives if only to remind us that we are not yet dead and still among the living, therefore our purpose in being here is still something we need to continue to pursue!
Love and Hugs ~ Kat