I, like millions of others, have a chronic condition that causes me days of extreme pain and zero visible accomplishment. My daughter has the same. When we are together and in pain the presence we are to each other is a unique and holy kind of love. It is truly very hard to be with someone in their pain. It is almost reflexive to run away physically if not emotionally. When we ourselves are in excruciating pain, we too want to run from ourselves. The current psycho-babble admonition to be fully present is at best annoying and at worst cruel. But when two people in pain are together, there is a bond that needs no words. That is where I am today. I am not practicing being present. I am gratefully remembering I am in the Presence of Holiness.
May God bless us with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
– Four-fold Franciscan Blessing
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