How many times have I talked with other women , "How is so and so because such and such has happened." Rather I hope to show goodness in the life of the woman experiencing pain. I want God to be able to prod my heart and say, " Call her, write her, cook for her, hug her". Life gets busy. But I obviously had time to join with the other women on how she was, so what better use of that time to actually pick up the phone, give her 5 minutes of my day and call her so she knows I care. I will not tell the other women I called. I will not pass the info she gave me to others. I simply called because I genuinely wanted to know if you are okay or in need. There are so many women in pain. Down the road from me a woman's husband has no job, every week I see a mom I know with a recovering son from leukemia. People I know have chronic pain, another has lost a member of her family to death. What better use of our time as women than reaching out. What a better use of time than discussing others and their situations. I went to work last night and had to take a class on pain.. I had to chuckle to myself since this week we are trying to find a woman in pain that we can do good to.Here are some facts that I found out. It was so eye opening to me to see the different aspects of pain in our lives. We have all been through one section of these at one time or another. I bet we all know someone who is in one of these sections now.Hope it encourages you to open your eyes to women around you that you can bless. That you can speak a good word to and that you can avoid gossiping about.
There are four different types of pain.....
1st Physical Pain- this is a biological response to actual or potential tissue damage related to a disease or injury.
2nd Psychological Pain- this is associated with strong emotions. It can arise from a fear of pain or death., a loss of hope, anger at circumstances beyond the persons control and ineffective coping strategies.
3rd Social Pain- this is a response to a financial worry, loss of a job or income, loss of personal identity and social position, isolation, family distress and conflict.
4th Spiritual Pain- this is a response to feelings of guilt, despair, anger, betrayal , fear, regret, sorrow , depression, and meaningfulness of one's life.
I know a woman in each of these categories, do you? Hope this puts a deeper view on pain that we can experience and that God will place a woman or women in your life this week that you can show goodness to.
Here are some ideas: A gas card to the mom who has to drive to Phoenix to give her son chemo every week, A simple phone call, A simple note of encouragement, A knew Bible, A great book, A gift card to the grocery store for the women who's husband is out of work. Please add your ideas below also in the comments for others to read. Remember also to pray for that women you come across and that God would touch her heart in an amazing way this week :)