when pain comes knocking, we can remind ourselves that there is a purpose to the pain! Mary Verghese was a promising young doctor whose future was bright. All that changed one day when she was in a car accident that left her lower body paralyzed and her face deeply scarred. In that first season of pain, the doctors tried everything to help her but to no avail. Finally, after some encouragement and a lot of hard work, she returned to being a doctor, becoming India’s first wheelchair doctor. She practiced medicine in a colony of lepers, and it’s said that when she wheeled into examine these lepers, all of their despair and self-pity went away. Her face was like theirs—deeply scarred. God used her to bring hope to the lowest of the low because she could empathize with their plight. And her empathy was birthed out of suffering; out of her pain came her purpose. It has been said that if you want to find your purpose, take inventory of your pain. I know many social workers who give their lives to help abused and marginalized people because in their story there was abuse and neglect. You want to know your purpose? Take inventory of your pain. Don’t waste your pain; it has a purpose! Pain Is Transformative—Ruth 1:20 N aomi returns home to Bethlehem after a prolonged season of pain, and the Bible says the whole town is stirred. I think it’s because they are both shocked that their long-departed friend is back, and when they see her, they are stirred because of the drastic change in her countenance. Her name, Naomi, means pleasant, but now she says don’t call me Naomi, but Mara. Mara means bitter. She has gone from Naomi to Mara, from pleasant to bitter. Isn’t that a fundamental property of pain? Pain changes us; it will make us either better or bitter. Pain can be an asset or a liability; it’s all in how we steward it. Fatherlessness is in your hands—how will you steward the pain of an absent dad or mom? My mother once told me that she made up her mind to be a great mom because she experienced the pain of her mom not doing what she should. She decided to use that pain to make herself a great mom. The pain of cancer or sickness is in your hand. How will you steward that for the glory of God? The pain of failure is in your hand. Will you decide to get better or bitter? Pain Is Temporary—Ruth 1:22 F inally, Naomi and Ruth go to Bethlehem after enduring years of pain. And then our story ends with a funny statement in verse 22. The narrator points out the time in which they return home—it was the time of barley harvest. Why would he say that? Barley harvest took place around April or May. It was one of the most cele- brated times of the year on the Jewish calendar. It was a season marked by intense rejoicing, singing, and dancing. The women would be jumping up and down and singing. You could  MARCH/APRIL 2019 WWW.CITYGATENETWORK.ORG 31 You want to know your purpose? Take inventory of your pain. Don’t waste your pain; it has a purpose!