The Beauty of Pain

One of the reasons why I so love my church is because of their deep sensitivity to pain in the midst of holidays and celebrations. Another reminder of this compassion was communicated through an absolutely beautiful, heart-felt prayer by our pastor’s wife, Jeanine in the main service on Sunday morning.

The prayer began thanking God for each of the mothers that we all have, and then she continued to cry out for those people who may be struggling on a day like today. She prayed for those who may have lost their moms or their children, for those who have a strained relationship with their mom, and she also prayed for those who desperately desire children, but for some reason are unable. I could tell that she was praying out of the deep pain of her own heart, as she remembered her own few years of infertility before God blessed them with children.

As she prayed, I opened my eyes and saw the young mother who was sitting directly in front of me whose husband suddenly died a year ago. In front of her was my dear friend who lost her own mother a few months ago to cancer and is now holding her husband’s hand in the hospital as he is being treated for pancreatic cancer. Behind me was a student whose being put in the middle of a messy divorce.

I was suddenly overwhelmed with the beauty of pain…this pain unites us as humans. We feel. We love. We hurt. We wait. We have passions, hopes, dreams. We have relationships that bring joy and relationships that bring pain. We are all created in the image of God…which means we have a God who knows feelings. A God who not only knows them, but created them.

He knows pain. He knows love. He knows hurt. He knows waiting. And I felt in my heart, as I stood there in the middle of Jeanine’s prayer, of this beautiful picture of the thread of suffering that weaves through our lives as people and ultimately connects to the heart of God.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:15-16).

How grateful I am that I can pray to my Father with confidence, in the pain and desperation of my humanity and know that He offers the mercy and grace to help me in my time of need – and that He is a God who sympathizes (not just empathizes) with my pain.

Updates:

• Things continue to be quite slow right now
• We will soon begin the process of updating our paperwork that will soon expire due to the long waiting period

Prayer Requests:

• for strength as we wait
• for our little one, that they would be loved and touched
• for the adoption to happen soon

Until next Monday, love Kate & Steve