No Time for Pain?

Remember that TV commercial for headache pills, "You don't have time for the pain!"?  All kinds of pain are certainly an inevitable part of our lives.  Physical pain, emotional hurts, we naturally would like to avoid all pain.  Most of us would not want to deliberately cause pain to another.  Is there any value to pain?

First, I'm thinking of physical pain.  There definitely is value in knowing a part of the body is not working properly!  It is our early alert: something has gone wrong - do something!!  As a nurse, I've known so many patients that ignored pain, sometimes severe pain, and the condition got worse, at times, life-threatening.

I've also cared for plenty of patients attempting to recover from surgery who apparently thought it was 'heroic' to not take pain medicine.  The nursing goal is to have our patients pain-free.  So we frequently ask them about their level of pain.  Some of them could hardly stand the pain and, through clenched teeth and facial grimaces, reported, "I'm fine."  We always told them, "you'll heal better if you're pain-free."  My dear dad, Reuben, observed, "It's not too bad if they just rearrange the parts.  But if they take out a part, it's worse."

For physical pain, the nurse in me tells you, if it is minor, tolerate it for a few hours and see if it goes away.  Don't take over-the-counter analgesics at every twinge because all medicines have side effects and also, your body may develop a toleration for certain medicines and then they will not be as effective.  Try non-pharmacologic methods first:  apply heat, lay down and relax, perhaps massage the affected area.

Years before I thought of becoming a nurse, I had migraine headaches.  I just thought they were bad headaches; I had never heard of 'migraine.'  So I would take two aspirins, mix coke and vanilla ice cream for a coke float and drink it, close the bedroom curtains, put a wet washcloth over my eyes and lie down for several hours.  It always worked.  Then after a few years I didn't notice such bad headaches anymore.  These days, you can buy over-the-counter medicines with aspirin or tylenol plus caffeine.

Mental pain or emotional pain is quite different.  All the medicines in the world may only make the situation worse.  We have to face whatever is causing the pain and do our best to resolve it, if possible. We may just have to learn to live with the pain.  Every situation and every relationship is unique.

Several days ago, I recalled a conversation I was part of months ago.  In it, I'm sad to say, I really ripped apart a dear friend of mine, in front of others, even though every word I said was true. Not a word was said by the other person.  Now it occurs to me how really brutal I was and I feel terrible about this.  I will have to sincerely and deeply apologize - tonight!  What value was that encounter?  Well, it got things out in the open that needed to be addressed.  But I went about it in the wrong way.  I just blurted out what we were all thinking.  But I didn't need to be hurtful.  I console myself with the thought that usually, I'm mellow and non-confrontational.

This afternoon at church, I found a small pamphlet, "Meditation."  Here's the part about pain.  Imagine this is Jesus, talking personally to you: "Do you dread something painful?  Is there in your soul a vague fear which seems unreasonable, and yet torments you?  Trust fully in My providence. I am here, I see everything; I will not leave you."  I wanted to share that with you.  Peace!