Thorny

     The apostle Paul said God gave him a thorn in the flesh to keep him humble.  Nothing God has given me thus far in my life has made me humble, but the method God seems to use most often on my long journey to humility is humiliation. Either I do something incredibly stupid or thoughtless or I forget to do something even a stupid or thoughtless person would think of.  Despite regular occurrences of the aforementioned incidents, my humble pie is taking a long time to bake. I do however have a thorn in the flesh or, in my case, a barb in the brain--migraine headaches.  Harmonizing the existence of pain with the goodness of God is a puzzle for far greater minds than mine.  All I know is that the same pain which our Enemy would use to distract and discourage us is what God uses to focus and grow us.
     I have come up with five things I have learned from my seasons of pain, alliterated because that is just more fun.  Pain teaches me to:
     Pay attention:  When I am looking to God for answers, I am more likely to be listening.
     Prioritize:  If I only have a certain amount of productive time, I need to spend it well.  I am amazed to discover  the world does not come to an end when Competent Connie isn't up to running it.
     Pathos:  I can not only empathize with other migraineurs (headache professionals) but with anyone suffering.
     Perception:  Sometimes I need to push through the pain, sometimes I need to rest.  Knowing which method is called for requires the usually overlooked skill of listening to my body. 
     Patience:  I hate learning patience. None of the things that teach us patience are pleasant: helplessness, waiting etc.  I heard a woman tell how she used to pray for patience, six children later she recognized the pattern and stopped.  Patience is a bummer but it comes in handy, mostly to the people who live with us.
     I have also found that between my dislocating kneecap in childhood, three natural births and migraines I have developed a really high pain tolerance and that comes in handy as well, but it doesn't start with a "P" and I was not attempting to make an exhaustive list because of the idea of exhaust.  Being exhausted gives me a migraine.  I can buy thornless raspberry plants or roses, but I prefer my life the way God has given it--thorns and all.