“Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who tells you differently is selling something.”
Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride
Physical and Emotional Pain
This is one of my favorite movie quotes of all time. I like it because it contradicts what I think is the much believed and misguided idea that if I could just get (fill in the blank)______________, or just move to (fill in the blank)_____________________,or just (fill in the blank) _________________________, I could live a pain-free life. I think that politicians often promise that they, or the legislation they will pass if elected, could eliminate the pain we all feel. But life is painful. It is emotionally painful as we navigate relationships, careers and deal with disappointments from all areas of our lives. It is also physically painful as we have bodies that experience fatigue, disease, and sickness. It is obvious that pain varies in its intensity and duration. It ranges from minor annoyances (dead grass tracked into the house by a new puppy) to devastating (a beloved spouse who has painful, terminal cancer). If we are going to find happiness, it will not come when all the pain from our lives is eliminated. Rather, it will come when we can find happiness in the pain and while experiencing pain.
My Personal Struggle with Pain Today
I am thinking about pain and happiness because yesterday, while puttering in my garage, I twisted my leg in such a way that it is creating a sharp and unrelenting pain. I can’t walk (although, if I hold onto something, I can take very small steps and shuffle). I am taking ibuprofen, keeping my leg elevated, and, if I don’t move, the pain is low enough, I can read and write this blog. It hurts, but it is not excruciating. Besides the physical pain there is disappointment. It is a beautiful spring day today and I am stuck inside. I had to skip chapel this morning and cancel Bible Study for tonight. So, if I rated pain and disappointment on a scale of zero to ten (zero -no pain and ten- crucifixion), I am at a four or five. I can feel the pain, and I am disappointed, but as I said, it is not excruciating
Finding Happiness in the Midst of Pain and Disappointment
If we are going to find happiness, it will not come when all the pain from our lives is eliminated. Rather, it will come when we can find happiness in the pain and while experiencing pain. Here are some steps to consider:
First, I will affirm my conviction that this pain will work to make me a better person. James 1:2-4, says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” I cannot begin to explain why there is so much pain and suffering in the world, but I do believe that there is a God who is in control, and He is up to something that is bigger than what we experience.
Second, I will focus on the good friends I have in my life. Debbie is being very gracious and is taking care of all my needs; an airman has texted and said he will help in any way he can; a friend who is an athletic trainer in another state gave me excellent advice on how to care for my injury today; and I have a puppy who is doing what he can to help. There are others, I am rich in good friendships and just thinking about the people I love makes everything better.
Third, I will thank God that I live in a country where I can get medical care. Although it hurts today, it is not an emergency, so I will wait until tomorrow to contact my doctor. It may take a few days, but I have confidence that the problem will be diagnosed, using machines that are magical. I think we often take some of this machinery for granted, but when you think about an X-Ray, an MRI, or a sonogram, each of which allow doctors to see inside the body, it is amazing! Often people don’t think about this, but much of the world does not have access to this technology, and until the last century or so, no one had anything like this. Often, I hear people complain about the medical care they receive or their medical insurance (I have often referred to my schwein insurance company. (Schwein is German for pig, it is a family expression we use to express our unhappiness at certain companies or bureaucracies which seem to work against us instead of for us). However, with a little reflection, it is possible to rejoice at the good medical care we all get. If you doubt you get good medical care, compare the medical care you receive to what anyone got in 1850 or what two thirds of the world receives today in places like India, China, and most of Africa. Nobody gets perfect medical care, and there is no such thing as perfect medical insurance, but all you have to do is imagine you live in the middle of the 19th century and you can rejoice at how good things are for you.
Fourth, I will enjoy the moment. I am in a very comfortable chair, typing on a very light laptop computer, listening to some very nice light jazz which Debbie has playing on our music system. In a few moments I will begin reading a new book on my iPad. It is really just fine.
It is true that my pain and circumstances today are not agonizing. You might rate my pain today at a one or two instead of a four or five. You might object that my pain and disappointment are not nearly as great as what you are experiencing today. And you may be right. However, I think that these four principles hold true for the minor disappointments that life hands us as well as the devastating blows that befall all of us that live in a fallen world.
My prayer for you today is that these words might help you to find happiness in the midst of the pain and disappointment in your world today.
