Life is filled with pain. In fact, I've been promised there will be many trials. I shouldn't be surprised. Pain is a part of this world. And, as I sat talking to God about a painful situation in my life this morning, telling Him about why it hurt....laying it all out for Him to see. (It's one of the things I love about Him most....He can handle me) I asked Him what my response to this pain should be. Because, the pain hurts and the feelings are real, but I still have a choice in how I choose to respond. His response came quick. My heart rolled its eyes cause it already knew the answer. Not unlike my children rolling their eyes at me when I give them the same response I've given to them a million and one times about an issue they have. And while my response doesn't change.....well, not very often. God's response NEVER changes. He said the same thing to me He has said before: LOVE.
Love is the response to pain. And I felt a need to write it down. Lest I forget, the next time I hurt, which will probably be tomorrow or maybe even an hour from now, because I need to remember: LOVE.
There is a great scripture about Love in 1 Corinthians 13. I know it well. This is the rendition I began to hear in my head:
Love listens. Love doesn't need to defend, because Love knows who the great Defender is. Love pushes forward and towards and Never pulls away. Love accepts the situation, knowing if change needs to come, it comes through the Heart, gentle conviction, and intimacy of moments with God. Love feels no need to talk itself up, because it knows who it belongs too. Love expects nothing in return. Love doesn't perform. Love patiently waits. Love encourages and walks beside even through the pit. Love is never afraid of the ugly because it is for these very things, the ugly and the mess, that Love came.
It all comes down to love. Love is my response to every painful situation in this world. Because out of everything else in this world.....Love is the only thing that remains. It is steadfast and never changing, because Love is God. It is an expression of His very Heartbeat. It is unchangeable, everlasting, and cannot be destroyed. It is His response to a broken world. It is His response to me. It is His response to my brokenness. Love came to restore the broken and to heal the pain. He came to bring back to life relationship between us and Him. Why? Because it is relationship with Perfect Love that binds up all that pain, brings peace in the middle of storms, and protects hearts, minds, and souls.
So my response to pain? Love, His love. As He has freely given to me, so I can freely give. This I need to remember in the moments when pain hits and I feel like defending, retaliating, puffing myself up and withdrawing into my cocoon of safety. His response to me is always caught up in that one little word: LOVE.
