Painful Lessons

I’ve been dealing with a toothache for the past two weeks. My sister-in-law has had pain in her right hand and wrist for the past two months. I have several friends who have been living with chronic pain for years as a result of autoimmune disorders. How can any good come out of physical pain that is so disruptive?

I do believe that experiencing pain can help us become more aware of and compassionate toward others who are in pain. I have ready access to a dentist, but lots of people don’t; how many of them have only a bottle of ibuprofen to dull the throbbing in their jaw as they drag themselves through the day? Do I even think about that possibility when I encounter people who are irritable or worn out?

Another possible consequence of pain occurred to me as I read the following insight by Christine Valtners Paintner: “When we rush from one thing to another, we skim over the surface of life, losing the sacred attentiveness that brings forth revelations in the most ordinary of moments.” Pain prevents us from skimming over the surface of life. It demands that we be fully present to the sensations we are feeling at this very moment. Most of us would be hard pressed to call pain sacred, but it certainly teaches us attentiveness.

Here is a question that pain invites us to consider: Can we be as attentive to God—and to the Christ in others—as we are to our pain?

As with everything that enters our lives, pain can be our teacher if we stop resisting it and listen to what it has to say.