For whatever reason, I can't even run for more than five minutes.
I love running, I did a 5k when I was 13, but now running for a minute and a half is challenging.
Sitting, standing, or kneeling in the same position for more than five minutes hurts so bad.
It feels like my feet are completely numb or I'm stepping on legos -- with a dull tingling sensation as the only in-between.
When someone taps me on the shoulder, or when I accidentally bump into part of my car it feels like I'm being slapped.
It's not something I talk about a lot, because frankly, my complaining is annoying to me and everyone else, but it's a constant reality that never goes away.
I'm not here to complain about things that hurt though, besides chronic pain is really common.
Regardless, we need to change the way we think about pain.
We're taught by the entire world that pain is a BAD, BAD thing that we need to AVOID.
That's really not true though.
Think of all the things we wouldn't have without pain, actually the list of things we *do* have without pain would be much shorter.
Pain is Jesus dying on the cross.
Pain is a mother waking up in the middle of the night to calm a crying child.
Pain is giving someone else the last piece of chocolate.
Pain is doing one more assignment and offering it up to Jesus.
YES, all these things involve pain, but you know what's also a necessary part of these things? Love.
Love is Jesus dying on the cross.
Love is a mother waking up in the middle of the night to calm a crying child.
Love is giving someone else the last piece of chocolate.
Love is doing one more assignment and offering it up to Jesus.
Pain is love.
So what does that say about chronic pain?
Well, it's a complicated question, and I think there's more than one way to answer it.
But here's what I think -- Jesus communicates to us through pain.
He shows us how much He loves us by going through the greatest pain on earth.
When we're in pain, we share in His passion but just a little smidgen of a dot.
Experiencing constant pain means we share in His love even more.
Honestly, it's a gift.
It's not what the world wants us to believe is a gift.
Every single tingle, twinge, or ache is a reminder of His love.
Now just because I'm saying this doesn't mean I do a good job of putting applying this mentality to daily life and I certainly don't want to convey that impression.
But I think it's true.
It's probably going to be a little while before I learn to embrace the pain of walking three feet as a gift, but maybe someday right?
Nonetheless, recognizing this is a crucial part of understanding our role in Christ's passion.
We have the opportunity to experience the Passion in varying degrees each day.
Instead of shunning it, let's embrace it like Christ did.
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