{"id":940,"date":"2013-12-03T14:52:37","date_gmt":"2013-12-03T14:52:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=940"},"modified":"2013-11-29T21:15:11","modified_gmt":"2013-11-29T21:15:11","slug":"the-greater-the-cheer-the-greater-the-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/12\/the-greater-the-cheer-the-greater-the-pain.html","title":{"rendered":"The greater the cheer, the greater the pain?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of nuchylee\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you have felt great loss this year, or if your health challenges are weighing heavily upon your spirit and life, the “cheer” that accompanies this season can be particularly difficult to be around. \u00a0In fact, the great the cheer around you, the greater might be the pain that you feel. Much like rubbing salt into a deep wound.<\/p>\n

Perhaps retreating seems like a good idea about now. You want to avoid further hurt, and even the faintest Christmas carol can stir up your pain to the point of you breaking down. \u00a0But family commitments, work responsibilities, and other externals are powerful and important – and you can’t just curl up into a ball and wait out your extra pain until January.<\/p>\n

What do you do?<\/p>\n

Your medical team is a tremendous support for you, now. For those of us who live with chronic pain and illness – health challenges that can flare terribly during this Season – we sometimes forget that the “intangibles” matter, not just the rashes and other tangible manifestations of our illnesses. So, do not hesitate to talk about how you’re feeling with your doctor.<\/p>\n

Also, understand that God is walking with you. Sense Him beside you, and sense that He wants to comfort you. Reach out for this comfort in prayer; you are no failure if you are hurting at a time that is supposed to be happy. You are uniquely, profoundly you, and God loves who you are now, in your present. Feel no guilt for sorrow, but let your tears wash and cleanse that sorrow and bring you through.<\/p>\n

As we harbor pain in \u00a0our hearts, it’s important and helpful to remember that others hurt, too. Perhaps your whole family is dealing with a significant loss, or perhaps a friend is. But even if they are not, there are many throughout the world who are. And, if you cannot actively participate in volunteer activities, if you cannot be where those hurting are, you can be a powerful prayer warrior this season, turning your supplications toward the heavens on behalf of those who might be too weak, too low, too hurting to do so for themselves.<\/p>\n

Advent is a season of waiting, but it also calls for us to become new – new in the spirit, new in our lives. Our losses make this hard to do because we remember those who were and that which was. It’s hard, but not impossible, to forge new traditions and to fold our losses into that which we celebrate at this time. Consciously work to bring your loss into this Season in a way that remembers, but also acknowledges that the present is blending into a future that need not always be so crushing. Light a candle for your loved one, relate cherished stories, and move ahead, seeking a joy that is within you because of faith, God’s love, and unwavering hope.<\/p>\n

Our losses will undoubtedly bring tears, especially at this time of year. But we can work with them and through them, for there is still much to be thankful for, much to rejoice in, and much more life in which to feel God’s love – sure, true, and wondrous love.<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have felt great loss this year, or if your health challenges are weighing heavily upon your spirit and life, the “cheer” that accompanies this season can be particularly difficult to be around. \u00a0In fact, the great the cheer around you, the greater might be the pain that you feel. Much like rubbing salt…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241,3,43,4,95],"tags":[183,829,831,632,30,828,827,96,830],"class_list":["post-940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christmas","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-prayers","tag-gods-love","tag-loss-at-holiday-season","tag-loss-of-a-loved-one","tag-mourning","tag-pain","tag-pain-and-loss","tag-pain-at-holiday-season","tag-prayer","tag-sorrow-at-the-holidays"],"yoast_head":"\nThe greater the cheer, the greater the pain? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/12\/the-greater-the-cheer-the-greater-the-pain.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The greater the cheer, the greater the pain? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you have felt great loss this year, or if your health challenges are weighing heavily upon your spirit and life, the “cheer” that accompanies this season can be particularly difficult to be around. \u00a0In fact, the great the cheer around you, the greater might be the pain that you feel. 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. 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