CHRONIC PAIN
In the movie, The Princess Bride, one of the characters, the Dread Pirate Roberts, drives home a point to the heroine, Princess Buttercup. As she laments the loss of her one true love, he rebukes her self-pity with the statement, “Life is pain, Highness, and anyone who says differently is selling something.”
Have you ever felt that way? That life is pain? That the future will be little more than one long emotional, physical, or relational toothache? What possible transformational or positive impact can come when pain seems relentless?
The question usually intensifies as we grow older and our painful experiences move from being acute to being chronic. Acute pain can be severe, but it does go away in a relatively short period of time: we break a bone; a child gets caught lying; we cannot manage the household budget; our parents overstay their welcome during the holidays.
But chronic pain – the type that makes us think that all of life is pain – drags on without any apparent end in sight. For some, it’s physical: the doctor diagnoses rheumatoid arthritis. For others, it’s relational: a daughter announces an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Some suffer from chronic financial pain: we default on a mountain of debt and lose our home. Others absorb the realities of family pain: our aging parents move in with us.
Acute pain is a night in jail. Chronic pain is a long-term prison sentence without parole. Acute pain cries “Ouch. I’ll never do that again.” Chronic pain moans, “Woe is me; I’ll never be free again.” Although many of us have not suffered actual incarceration, we use the prison analogy because chronic pain is a life situation which is an undesirable condition, circumstance, or relationship which we’d like to escape but over which we have no control.
In the face of all pain, we start by asking God to heal us. We pray, “Lord, please take away the pain.” But what do we do if he doesn’t? What do we do with the chronic pain that God leaves untouched?
The coming two blogs will provide some suggestions on how we might respond. If you’re looking for a more immediate answer, consider picking up a copy of our book.
