15 Things I've Learned From Chronic Pain

The last pain-free day of my life was sometime around the middle of November 2013, and since then I've been learning to live with Trigeminal Neuralgia and what it is like to always be in pain. To give you a brief idea of what a normal day looks like the first 30 minutes I'm awake I usually have a reprieve from most symptoms, and after that around 70 to 80 percent of the time I spend awake that day I will be in a varying degree of pain. Through walking in this for several months I have been able to learn alot about myself, God, and just life in general; so I figured it would be an interesting idea to chronicle some of these new things as well as some things I was reminded of here:

1. The world doesn't slow down because you aren't feeling good today, even if that's everyday. Figuring out how to suck it up is a life skill.

2. You aren't entitled to getting mad at people for not understanding what you're going through.

3. Romans 8:28 sometimes has a funny way of playing out.

4. God isn't any less good if I don't get better.

5. Everyone is struggling.

6. Jesus suffered way more than I ever will.

7. I am desperately and perpetually in need of the mercies and grace of Christ.

8. Long-term suffering will grow you up in a short amount of time.

9. You can be sad and still have unspeakable joy.

10. You can suffer well when you make much of the Gospel and what it has to say about suffering.

11. You begin to thank God for things you used to take for granted, like time you aren't in pain.

12. Suffering is not a free excuse to treat people however you want. Jesus asked God to forgive the people who were crucifying Him.

13. You will lash out at some point when you get overwhelmed, so learn to apologize for that instead of making excuses.

14. Other people who are hurting are going to look at you and see how you handle your suffering, so make much of the opportunity to show people there is always hope in Christ.

15. At the end of the day, God is still God, and that really is enough reason to have joy.