Life Without Pain?
Would you like to live without pain?
I always thought that would be great, to be hurt and not feel pain, to never have to suffer. But that could be very dangerous.
Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy. - John 16:20
In today's reading Jesus tells his disciples he is going to die, but the pain and loss they feel will be temporary. Joy will follow.
I never gave much thought to the fact that we need and depend on pain as a warning of danger. If we didn't feel pain when we touch something hot, we could be seriously burned and not know it.
If we felt nothing at the loss of a loved one, would we be able to love our neighbor as Jesus said?
Clearly the disciples didn't understand what Jesus was talking about when he told them they would mourn his death but find joy. If they did, they wouldn't have run. They would have smiled knowing they would have the last laugh.
Would they?
Even though we have faith that we will see our loved ones again, we feel the pain and the loss when they die. It is a natural reflex. It is how we heal.
We don't have a choice in the matter. We feel and we suffer, and sometimes we don't get over the loss.
I was talking with someone yesterday who had just come from admitting his mother to a nursing facility. She had suffered the loss of her husband four months ago and now she is slipping away.
she suddenly has issues with balance, becomes disoriented, has periods of great loss, mentally and physically.
She is in mourning, totally, body, mind and soul.
What can we do for someone when they suffer such a loss? Would the words Jesus spoke to his disciples be enough?
The mother is suffering, but so is the son. He is at a loss, not knowing what to do, how to be loving and comforting, knowing he has put her someplace she does not want to be.
Yes, sometimes we would embrace a life without pain, or even just a few minutes, hours, days, weeks.
It isn't going to happen, we know. Life brings pain and joy, sometimes thankfully together as in birth, and sometimes surprisingly together as in death, when the suffering stops.
Join me in praying for Catherine today and for her family, that they may find moments of joy.
More to come...
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