Pain Has Purpose

I believe there is purpose in pain. I believe in its ability to lift its students to a higher understanding of the divine, to forge strength from weakness, and to inspire love that is, to its core, supreme.

I was 23 when I had my first baby. My husband and I were crazy enough to decide to give “natural birth” a try. This was my first experience with real physical pain, yet I would go on to have two more kids in the same way.

The 18 hours of labor was transforming, to say the least. Within that relatively small time frame, I experienced a range of emotion. I felt such sweet peace and connection with my husband as he would lay behind me, whispering encouraging words in my ear. I felt fear, because the sensations in labor can be scary, and I did not know if I could do what I had set out to do. I felt relief in the brief pauses between contractions. I felt pain that is difficult to describe, and to this day, causes me to cringe. Eventually, I felt pure, simple, unconditional love the first time I touched my sweet baby.

Some think I’m crazy for ever choosing to go through birth this way, when there is a “pain free” alternative. Their judgments don’t bother me. I’ve gained more understanding about life and love from the births of my three children, than from any other experience. I’ve learned that deep, lasting strength is developed in the moments when you are pushed to your limits. When you survive a trial or test that you never thought you could get through, you feel empowered and limitless. That confidence gained can carry you for the rest of your life, if the impact is great enough. I’ve learned that suffering doesn’t last forever, even though it feels like it will in the worst moments. There are always periods of rest; brief breaks in the waves that crash upon you, where you are able to take a breath.

I’ve learned that God does not cause us pain, he gives us pain. Why is that? He understands that pain has purpose. Enduring those awful moments can develop men and women who are empathetic, resilient, and strong in character and in spirit. It is the people who have overcome great challenge that inspire us the most. It is this understanding of our Gods relationship to us, his children, which has led me to know that he is the most unselfish and loving parent.

Consider how hard it is for any parent to watch their own child suffer. Yet, we know that pain is an inevitable part of life. From birth, we all begin to become acquainted with discomfort, and occasionally, pain. God has to witness it all, knowing how it feels; yet he has to refrain from rescuing us from it every time we live through its crushing blow. He eases our burdens with divine comfort. He provides tender mercies, to make the blows just bearable enough, so that we can still be shaped and strengthened by them. But he does not completely remove the pain because it’s important for us to feel it. This is Gods greatest expression of love.