JohnPalmieri.com

PROCESSING PAIN

It is not uncommon for me to experience debilitating abdominal pain. Pain that radiates from my abdomen to my head and often comes with severe migraine, nausea, and muscle knots between my shoulder blades. I’ve asked God on several occasions to take it away and for now it seems as if this illness is here to stay. Although I do not like any aspect of this illness I have come to appreciate the lessons I’m learning in bouts of infirmity.

Here are a few lessons I’m learning:

• My deepest well being is not dependent on my physical health…but my spiritual rest in Christ.
• Pain teaches me empathy and compassion towards others.
• Prolonged physical pain empties me of myself…keeping my self reliance/independence in check.
• In illness I’ve pondered the brevity of life and have come to value my loved ones above all else – especially my wife.
• The land of gratefulness is where I want to reside …life is too short to carry the subtlety and brazenness of resentment.
• The Apostle Paul’s words sum it up for me; “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:9-10)

Another insightful article: A Biblical Perspective on Chronic Pain and Illness

Planet Earth

I was awakened this morning by rattling windows, a shaking bed, and rumbling sound. I rolled over in bed and ask my wife; “What is that?” Disoriented I thought the washing machine was out of balance…slamming terribly out of control, but then the windows started rattling; it was then that I realized we were experiencing an earthquake. Later in the morning I found out that the epicenter was located near Sycamore, Illinois – approximately 30 miles from my house. Although only a 3.8 magnitude quake I was amazed at the power it yielded; I can only imagine the terror people in Haiti felt at their 7.0 magnitude earthquake.

Today I had the privilege of sitting in a circle with some of my pastoral friends…taking turns reading out loud in it’s entirety Letter from a Birmingham Jail . If you’ve never had the opportunity to read this treatise of Martin Luther King Jr, written while he sat lonely in a narrow jail cell, you need to take time out to read it. I would venture to say that your heart will open and your respect for Martin Luther King Jr. will only increase.