A few weeks ago, in my psychology class, we watched a short video about a girl who can’t feel any pain. When my professor first explained what the video was about I was envious of this girl. I thought about how nice it would be to live a life free of pain. However, as I watched the video I realized that I was missing something very important. Because the girl in the video couldn’t feel anything, there was no way for anyone to know if anything was wrong with her. If she became ill or hurt there was no way to heal her because she didn’t know there was anything wrong in the first place. After watching this video I realized how lucky I am to be able to feel not only physical pain but emotional pain as well.

Whenever bad things have happened in my life I always hated the feeling that resulted from it. Many times I wished it would all go away, and that none of the bad things had happened to me. However, as time would go on I would begin to see the healing and how the original pain had begun to shape me. It was like I was growing and maturing into someone I would’ve never been if this hadn’t happened to me. So as I watched this girl who couldn’t feel anything I sat there and thought about who I would be without all the pain in my life.

Take a second and think about it. The times where you hit the lowest point, where everything was dark and when it seemed like nothing could ever get better. Once you think about that, come back and look at the person you are now. I can guarantee you that under the scars left behind there is a strong and beautiful person there. Because of your downfalls, failures, and struggles, you have made it here today.

In high school, I struggled with depression and a feeling that things would never get any better. I felt pain every day and I would’ve done anything to get rid of it. But let me just tell you that I am SO thankful that I wasn’t able too. They say sometimes you win and sometimes you learn and man did I learn more than I ever expected too. Because of the pain and the struggles that I faced I gained strength and learned things about myself that I didn’t know before.

I was also able to realize that every time I have felt pain God has led me to a place that’s so much better than anything I had in mind. I think we often feel pain because we have an idea in our heads of how we want things to work out. We plan out our lives and when things don’t go our way it often causes us pain. However, it’s so important to know that when things don’t go our way it means they’re going God’s way which puts us on a path that leads us to the best things in our lives. God doesn’t promise that there won’t be pain, but He does promise that the pain won’t for last forever and that with all pain there is a purpose.

Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us.” This verse alone is a promise that any pain you could ever feel cannot compare to the joy you will feel when it is all over. It is a promise that there is always a reason for the things we endure and that the Lord has a perfect plan for you whether you can see it or not.

When we feel pain, we are made aware of the fact that something is wrong. It gives us an opportunity to examine our lives and to learn how we can heal and move on. So, as great as it sounds to be pain-free for the rest of your life, just know that your life wouldn’t be what it is without it, and because of it, you are beautiful.