Pain is a small word  that packs a big “punch.”  It conjures up so many feelings, thoughts, and emotions in people.  I found this excellent definition (medicinenet.com):

Pain: An unpleasant sensation that can range from mild, localized discomfort to agony. Pain has both physical and emotional components. The physical part of pain results from nerve stimulation. Pain may be contained to a discrete area, as in an injury, or it can be more diffuse, as in disorders like fibromyalgia. Pain is mediated by specific nerve fibers that carry the pain impulses to the brain where their conscious appreciation may be modified by many factors.

In general, people associate pain with something negative and it can be physical or emotional.  My recent foot surgery has made me contemplate how pain can be a good thing.  In March of this year, I tore the peroneal tendon on the outside of my left foot.  I was in a boot for 7 weeks hoping it would heal, but it didn’t.  I was in continual pain as additional tests were run and my doctor found out the tendon was torn and would need to be repaired surgically.  So the pain pre-surgery was a bad thing and signified something was very wrong.  The pain post-surgery was severe at first and has  lessened in the last several weeks.  I continue to have numbness in my toes and “zinger” pains from the nerves that were cut.  The pain I have experienced post surgery is a GOOD thing because it means my foot is healing – the “zingers” mean that the nerves that were cut are ALIVE and regenerating and rebuilding their connections.  This process of healing will take months to fully restore.  My pain is normal and will pass.  It is for a season.

Although I have focused on physical pain, Emotional pain can work the same way – it can be seen as a good or bad thing.  In the throws of either pain, it seems impossible to view any pain as good at the time.   It is through pain that we go through that allows us to identify, pray for, and minister to others going through the same things.  This is one of the ways God uses our pain, scars, brokenness to bring healing to those around us.

Observations:

1. Pain can be GOOD
2. Pain means I am ALIVE
3. Pain can mean that God is healing me
4. Pain is uncomfortable and can be extreme at times
5. Pain can indicate an area (physical or emotional) in my life that God wants to heal
6. The scars from my pain allow God to use me to minister to others out of my own pain and experiences
7. Pain is normal and we will all experience it at one time or another
8. The healing process will take time

When God allows any kind of pain in our lives, maybe we need to step back and see if we are seeing the cup half empty or half full.  God can use any pain for His glory.