One of the great secrets of life is to schedule your pain.
People who end up with big problems are the folks who do pain-avoidance. They put off unpleasant things like exercising, going to the dentist, having an annual physical exam, having their will drawn, doing their taxes, visiting a therapist.
It's better to schedule painful experiences. Put them on your calendar. Spread them out so they do not all come at one time. And then do them, whether you feel like doing them or not. It is better to suffer a small amount every now and then than to have greater pain, plus the agony of regret, later.
Trust me, it pays to schedule your pain. And don't forget to follow each painful experience with a scheduled pleasurable experience.
Pastor,
ReplyDeleteBill Sartain recently introduced me to JDA. It is now a little gift that I look forward to unwrapping each morning. Thank you.
I was 25 when I moved back home to honor my word and help take care of my 57 year young mother. 2 years earlier she had been diagnosed with COPD. The next 8 years changed everything.
As a long term care insurance specialist, I regularly hear from people who need help not for themselves but for a friend, spouse, parent or grandparent who did not SCHEDULE THE PAIN. They arrive at a long term care event just like Christopher Reeve did or Pat Summit has but without all the fanfare. The people who call me arrive in crisis, both emotionally and financially, and through no fault of their own. The are in the position I was: enduring the consequences of someone else who did not SCHEDULE THE PAIN.
I hope your friends and congregation will heed your counsel today, Pastor. I hope the actions that you have suggested will be taken quickly if for no other reason than this: we don't want those closest to us to suffer the consequences we shackle them with because we did not SCHEDULE THE PAIN.
Kind regards and sincere thanks for your words,
Kevin Cain