Beauty from Pain

Last week, we watched the movie “I Can Only Imagine”. I cried throughout the movie (which, if you know me well, is one measure of how good a movie is), but it also had tidbits here and there that made me laugh out loud. It has a very simple (and common) theme about how something beautiful can come from great pain. They referenced, in the story, another of my favorite songs (and movies) and its origins:  Amazing Grace. The song was written by a former slave ship captain. The grief and guilt that he experienced from his past allowed him to write one of the most beloved (and beautiful) hymns in the world. As soon as the movie was over I went to bed, but my mind wouldn’t allow me to sleep. Tears kept flowing from my eyes and my heart was filled with so many memories of painful times that bred beauty.

The most obvious, of course, is the sacrifice of Jesus. Our redemption, our hope, our peace, our joy all come from an event of horrific pain. His suffering allows us to share in so much joy in this life, and purchases for us a future of unimaginable beauty.  The ultimate place of beauty was made available through intense pain and sorrow. The scriptures are full of how sorrow and tribulation gives way to joy and hope.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:16-18 NKJV)

For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning. (Psalms 30:5 NKJV)

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." (Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV)

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:3-5 NKJV)

I look back in my own life and see so many times when something wonderful has emerged from times of suffering. Without pain, I don’t believe we can fully appreciate our blessings. As much as I always longed to be a mother, I truly believe that my love and thankfulness for my three children is greater after having gone through years of infertility and miscarriages. Those who have struggled financially are often the ones who appreciate most what they have been given, and also to have compassion for and a desire to share with others who are struggling. I believe that we are most effective in ministering to others when we have known pain.

So, is pain a good thing? I really believe it is. God gave us pain as a warning sign. If something hurts you, you learn to avoid it. Emotional pain can work the same way, but with an added bonus. It can, with God’s help, produce empathy and compassion and a sincere thankfulness that may not otherwise be achieved. We learn and grow from pain. Just as flood waters carve beautiful designs in the slot canyons of Arizona and Utah, God can use our pain to shape and mold us into a thing of beauty for Him. I found a line in a book that I was reading yesterday that illustrates this concept. It was talking about the sweetgrass that is used to weave baskets, and how it couldn’t be successfully cultivated in rich soil. “The grass has to have lived a hard life to be right for the baskets.” (excerpt from “Sweetgrass” by Mary Alice Monroe)

My prayer is that God uses my hardships and pain to create something beautiful for Him!

Summertime

Things are going pretty well around here. Daddy’s last checkup was good. Bobbie has been pretty weak and wasn’t eating for awhile, but she seems to have perked up a bit the past week or so. She still needs to see a couple of specialists:  one for determining what to do about her blood clots (blood thinners cause her to bleed internally and cause severe anemia, without blood thinners leaves her in danger of heart attack or strokes from blood clots), and the other for her kidneys. Her last numbers on her kidneys were actually up a little. Hers seem to fluctuate more than Daddy’s, but the doctor still considers them stable.

This Saturday, Brookdale is hosting a cookout for Father’s Day. Daddy is pretty excited about it. Dennis and I plan to be there, as do Sheila and Nam. He always really enjoys having Nam around!

Nam has missed Ricky since he started back to work with CWC. He only gets to see him on the night they sleep over. Ricky did go to church at Henrietta Creek on Sunday, which really excited Nam. They have really gotten to be good buddies.

We had a busy morning today! We went to the library to turn in Nam’s books/movies and check out some more. They have some really cool blocks that he likes to play with there, so we stayed a good while. Then we headed to the park. There were several little kids that he played with, including another 4-year-old boy. We also carried a new kickball that I bought Nam yesterday. We kicked it back and forth for a while, and he and the other kids played with it some. It is so good for him to have other kids to interact with. He is around adults most of the time. He is going to a special series of classes at the FW Museum of Science and History next week. I’m looking forward to seeing how he does with that. He’s never been left somewhere without one of us or Jessica or Gina. I hope he does ok! It will be good practice before he starts pre-K.

We were working with Nam on his counting on our way home from lunch today. We counted all the way to 100. He needs some prompting and help, but he is really learning fast. His language skills continue to improve. He is improving his enunciation, and he can say pretty much anything. Sheila and he have been doing a little science project at home. They sprouted some beans in a Ziploc bag. When they were checking their progress after a week, they were noticing the leaves and sprouts. Nam warned his momma to watch out and not break them, because “God made those!”

Not much else going on around here…just trying to stay cool on these 100 degree days. Thankfully, we’ve have some good rains over the past couple of weeks:  about 1.5 inches total. That (along with some watering) has kept our yard alive. Hope things are not too dry where you are!