It rained today as I baked.
I was once told, “It is difficult to truly appreciate the rainbow without going through the storm.” It taught me that pain is a driving force. Pain can make you stronger, or it can break you down. Pain teaches you lessons, and at times, kind of brutally.
Sunshine is needed for the survival of the plants and animals that live on earth. It is taken for granted at times because it can be extremely hot. It can make you uncomfortable and sometimes even burn you. But when the rain comes, and it rains for days on end, we begin to want the sunshine back. We even crave it and pray for it. And when we finally see the rain go away, and beauty giving rise to the sun’s presence again, we are brought back to an appreciation of the sunshine. Learning to appreciate the sunshine comes after a rainstorm has made you feel like you are drowning.
Like rain, Pain is often just construed as a negative experience. Oh, it’s needed and wanted, but in excess, we do tend to feel overwhelmed. In the same way rain is needed to make things grow, we encounter pain to grow our character. It sometimes takes us a minute to see that through the pain, strength is being cultivated. Through the “rainstorm”, strength is being generated from parts of your inner being where Souls wear capes and leap tall buildings in a single bound, where Spirit grows wings and soars above adversity. Pain breeds far more than a scar or two. It creates more than a sense of hurt; it pushes you to pull up, push back, and carry on. It forces you to search your resources and call to action your inner hero.
When something painful happens, people try to fix the moment. But when you fix the surface wound, the root cause still exists. When we rise up before Pain and take a stand, that is when Healing shows up at the party. Healing is pain’s companion. Healing is inevitable. Healing is often initially ignored when Pain is staring you down in the darkness. When Pain cloaks your eyes and wraps you in fear, we forget to look around and see a solution. Sometimes people stay in the pain because they can’t seem to see their way out of it. They are overwhelmed by the distraction of it, caught underneath the weight of it. They feel alone and are missing the fact that Healing is the player waiting to be put into the game. The focus is instead on the moment at hand. The focus is on Pain — a proverbial stare-down that most times results in defeat. Thoughts are submerged in the agony. Emotions are controlled by the power of it. If your eyes clench and you curl up, moving toward the finish is pretty much impossible. If your head is down when sitting at the bottom of the pit, how is looking up and seeing the light, the way out, ever an option? But when your focus shifts and you allow your wings to open up, you will feel the air underneath them pulling you up. You will meet Freedom along this flight path. You will see that Worth is holding your head up high.
The medicine of healing is inside this journey. The steps may be shaky, but you take them. The road may be unsure, but you push through. The wayside is a breeding ground for obstacles and distractions, but your focus is blind to them, your determination is unshaken.
You are being a hero because even heroes fight oppression in the plight toward salvation.
You are finding strength in the face of apprehension because no one promised it would be easy.
You are finding confidence in your ability because when challenged by the chattering of anxiety, your ears only hear your persistence.
You are no longer bullied by your insecurities nor threatened by the battle, for the wounds you will wear after battles end only prove that you are a survivor.
You are rising above your fear because Mercy is carrying you and Grace is cheering for you.
You may stumble along the way, but you will rise up again.
You may doubt from time to time, but you will find Truth.
You are overcoming.
You are now fighting side by side with Healing, and although the pain is still present, it is not consuming you. You are blanketed in perseverance. You are armed with determination.
And after every storm, you can rest on the promise of the rainbow.
You were promised you will never be swallowed up by circumstances nor consumed by situations.
You were promised you will never be alone.
Pick yourself up.
You are a child of the King. So, straighten that crown and carry on.
White Velvet Cakery 