Habit #3: Find purpose from pain
In research interviews four our latest project, we asked people if they would share their difficult mental health journeys. Over and over they said: “Of course. If it will help people who are going through what I went through, I’m happy to help.”
The people who persevere see the light at the end of the tunnel. The light is often not the end of the pain (because sometimes the pain is ongoing). But seeing a purpose for how the pain might be used makes a difference. Maybe it can help someone else. Maybe it’s to grow them. Maybe it’s to share about the goodness of God even in the heartache.
Notice our friend’s comment as he sits in his Altadena home, protecting it from flareups and looters, in a community filled by other grieving and scared people. “We are already seeing signs of new sprouts of life. . . we think God has put us here for a mysterious purpose and we are excited to say ‘YES.’”
We have to have hope in order to persevere through pain, whether it is in a challenging marriage or a challenging job, a chronic health issue or a long-term financial hardship. We never choose these challenges, but being open to how God can use them, helps us to not give up.
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