Pain

"I am grass. I am dandelions. Explanation: grass grows, and it is punished for it. People hate it and cut it, want to form it into a perfect little patch. And when dandelions grow, people rip them out, calling them weeds over flowers. And I am grass because I was starting to get better. I was starting to grow, and then I got mowed. There is nothing to me now. I am perfect and quiet. I am nice to look at, but I am empty."

"The settled happiness and security which we all desire, God withholds from us by the very nature of the world: but joy pleasure and merriment, He has scattered broadcast. We are never safe, but we have plenty of fun and some ecstasy ... Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but he will not encourage us to mistake them for home."

"Recently God asked me the same question in a new way, "And if I don't allow you to heal, if I never remove the pain, will you still trust Me?"

"When I was younger I thought going through something rough would be fun, or uplifting somehow. That sounds odd, but it was how everyone portrayed terrible things. You go through this horrid experience, and suddenly you’re a better person. I wanted that; everyone wants to be a better person. Now, though, after all of this, I realized that wasn’t true. Not all the time, at least. Suffering didn’t make a person stronger. It didn’t make character, or mold someone into a better part of themselves. It could—don’t get me wrong, it could. It could make someone see the light, see the world through a clearer vision. It could change everything. It could make people good and courteous, make them spend their lives trying to save others’. Their past could lead them to something brighter in the future, creating the theory that everything happened for a reason. It could make them grateful for their life instead of hateful, scornful, wishing they were never born. But it wasn’t like that for me; I didn’t get better. For me, all pain ever did was hurt."

"Chronic illness is hard. Pain is hard. Isolation is hard. The financial cost is hard. Grieving is hard and necessary and sometimes takes far longer than we every imagined."

"God whispered, "You endured a lot. For that I am truly sorry, but grateful. I needed you to struggle to help so many. Through that process you would grow into who you have now become. Didn't you know that I gave all my struggles to my favorite children? One only needs to look at the struggles given to your older brother Jesus to know how important you have been to me."

"I don't like to meet with people smiles, I always like to meet with the pain of people."

"Seeing him was a sucker punch to the gut. Once upon a time he’d loved her. And then when he’d stopped, it wasn’t really his fault."

"The surprise was worse that the pain. It showed a lack of awareness."

"The things they say!A truck driver would blush. I would never talk that wayto Trevor he walks on water. I want him to think I do too. For a while, he did, or at leasthe pretended to. I did things with Trevor I wouldn't dare to confessto anyone—things I didn'tknow anyone did. But he wanted me to,so I did. That's what you dowhen you love someone,right?"

"That's not the same. What happened to you, to your species, it's... it doesn't even compare.''Why? Because it's worse'She nodded.'But it still compares. If you have a fractured bone, and I've broken every bone in my body, does that make your fracture go away? Does it hurt you any less, knowing that I am in more pain''No, but that's"

"There will always be one or two things bothering the person next to you. And if that person happens to be looking heavenward, it’s because it helps us to remind ourselves that God is bigger than our problems."

"Fighting with the pain I made him my friend."

"My life is a room filled with love letters and goodbye notes."

"Even the most innocent of men's affairs seem doomed to cause suffering. Pushing the lawnmower through tall wet grass, and enjoying the strong aroma of the morning, I found that the blades had cut a frog in half. I have not forgotten his eyes."

"There is no pain in losing what you never had."

"To be subjected to pain that threatens to exceed coping resources is not something that people choose."

"If someone suffers enough pain and abuse, his volitional capacities will diminish to nothing."

"When they speak of Hell there's something they miss there's a worse place to be and it's called the Abyss."

"There are infinite ways for your mind to torture it's self."