Consider This (For my Son)
I thought I had to be perfect and hid judgment in my body.
And it became pain.
I thought that love was scarce, invisible and not for me.
And it became pain.
I hid loneliness behind my eyes and pain had a seat there.
And it became illness.
I swallowed the voices of others, voices that sickened and blamed, voices that
became mine, quietly rude and vicious,
So pain took up residence in my head; and pain rented a space in my neck, and
under my heart and held the rights to my love of life.
And Spirit said,
Before you curse the darkness of your pain consider this:
In the pain that visited you are many blessings.
Pain came as a guest not as a permanent resident. Like any good guest, it is not
eternal.
And like any good guest it brought you a gift- the blessing of choice.
Because of the pain of rejection you chose to claim your right be whole.
Because of the pain of lies you chose to be faithful to your heart’s truth.
Because of the pain of hatred you chose to witness for love.
Because of the pain of suffering you chose to have compassion for all.
Because of the pain of misunderstanding you chose forgiveness.
Because of the pain of grief you chose to have humility before the grandeur of
existence.
And Spirit said, consider this:
I have told you. Pain comes and goes. Like any good guest it has its limits. It is not
forever.
Have you not been told that Love has many faces? Consider that pain is one of those
faces.
Through Pain Love gave you the chance to embrace the alchemy of transformation.
Through pain Love gave you the chance to experience the abundance of Grace.
Through pain, Love gave you the chance to surrender to Spirit no matter what.
Through pain Love gave you the chance to come home to the unending Infinity of Love
Itself.
Bless the pain that made of your life a crucible, burning away illusions,
forcing you to reach through its real and terrible gift to the power of giving yourself
away to Love, over and over again.
© Linda Beatrice Brown, November 1, 2023