Pain Saves Us

We have pain in the body and pain in the mind. Without pain, we may die without warning. And one day, we will suddenly die.

 

My friend Linda's husband died suddenly of cancer one day. He had a fever and was sick, so he went to the emergency room and Linda said he had stomach cancer. He passed away after a week. We were so surprised and heartbroken. For cancer to appear so suddenly is only possible in the United States and cannot happen in Korea. My husband was also born with a very dull sense of pain. He didn't feel any pain until he had stomach cancer. One morning, my husband's face was pale and he collapsed on the way to the bathroom the night before he was taken to the hospital. The doctors cut 90% of his stomach out, including the duodenum and 15 perigastric lymph glands. I am very nervous because my husband has a dull sense of pain.

 

I can't work these days because of my back pain. But for this sore back, I feel grateful because I have enough warning to take a little break from the hamster-wheel life. Because it hurts, I can no longer wield the whip at myself. 

 

“Are we restless?”

If you are restless, then think about this: rest is truly the most important basis of life. Think about Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. If we don’t have Jesus, then it is not easy to survive. Just thinking about losing Jesus takes my breath away.

 

The most heartbreaking thing in my life was when my daughter left an email after two years of not hearing from her. Because of this, I believed my daughter was abducted during that time. Tears were already flowing from my eyes even when I looked in the mirror just to comb my hair. I had a lot of nightmares while sleeping too. Through such heartache, I learned a new world of mind. As a mother, I have been studying about young people recently and analyzing my experiences of waiting, patience, and things outside of my limits while praying. For example, what kind of mindset do young people live in? What do they teach at American universities these days? What are the politics, philosophies and dreams of young people? And above all, what things lowered my pride and why did I decide to educate my children like myself? The pain in my heart opened up a new world both in my heart and in my mind. So, pain in the body and pain in the mind also saves us from completely destroying ourselves.