My beautiful wife cries often wishing she could help me. My
son has to step up and do some things when I am not physically able to. They both
deal with my emotions when I am experiencing intense pain. My coworkers that
care about me know when I need them to just leave me alone for a bit. My
worship pastor and technical director have to deal with me being “chippy” when I
am hurting.
Everyone around us is affected when we are hurting so bad that
it becomes our focus. So what do we do? Here are a few suggestions:
- Have someone that you can talk to about working through the emotions. A friend, family member, pastor, or a professional counselor.
- Take a deep breath. Seriously! I am not talking about some mystical breathing exercise. I mean take a minute to breathe. I have some plants in my cubicle at work and I admire them and look for new growth. This helps me refocus when the pain is “too much”
- Read. A good book helps you to focus on something else for a moment. Let your imagination take you somewhere other than your current painful place.
- Listen to music. At work I am mostly in front of a computer all day. My pain makes it hard to focus at times. I place my headphones on a turn up some music to relax me. Note: that doesn’t mean you have to listen to “easy listening” music. My favorite focus music mix includes artists like Skillet, Red, NF, and others. Whatever genre will help you to refocus, make a playlist and listen.
Take time today to focus on how you can allow your pain to
be a reminder of how important it is for you to grow in this. In John 17:15
Jesus prayed for us, “My prayer is not
that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”
Sometimes our pain is a part of the lesson while we are here on planet earth.
If we allow our pain to be a testimony instead of just a story, He will be
honored and others will see it.
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