Pain

There are different kinds of pain in this world.

There is angry pain, which shouts in its bitter resentment.
It seeks vengeance and finds fear.
It is tense and refuses to be comforted.
This pain leaves you broken - hard, unbending, and brittle.

But there is also a quiet pain.
It is pain that is accepted;
pain that is breathed in and absorbed;
pain that you settle into, relax into.
This is the pain that seeks and finds Comfort,
the pain that weeps and finds Consolation.
This pain finds rest in the voice of a friend, the arms of a lover, the love of a Savior.
This pain listens, and hears love.
The love is breathed in where it mingles with the pain;
as the breath goes out some pain goes with it,
leaving an ache, a memory, a quiet, calming peace.

The brokenness of this pain leaves you firm but supple;
aware of your own weakness,
yet strong in God’s strength.

May your pain lead you down this second path.

Rebecca A Givens, 09/08