I saw part of a movie today where one character killed another in a mercy murder. Essentially, he killed his daughter to spare her the pain she was suffering from illness. Although I can understand the action, it still seems like a prideful act to me because when someone kills another person they are deciding that they know better than God when someone should live and when they should die. The obvious question is: What about pain and suffering?
Last night, I ate something that caused an allergic reaction. I started to feel really sick. I was nauseous. I had horrible stomach cramps. The whole thing felt awful. I had a choice to make. I could either get really upset about it or I could ride out the storm. Here’s the thing about pain: When I know how long the pain is going to last, it isn’t that bad, but when I don’t know how long it is going to last, that unknown is scary. I start to fear that the pain will last forever, and that fear makes the pain worse. I didn’t know last night how long my pain was going to last, but I did know it wasn’t going to last forever. At least, I had faith that the pain wasn’t going to last for a long time. So, I made the choice to stay calm. I prayed and asked God to help me. I got through it. Whenever I have pain, (stomach discomfort, migraines, etc.), I have to take a leap of faith and believe that it isn’t going to be a constant. I have to believe that eventually it will change. For me, it is one of the hardest leaps of faith to take. It is so scary to feel pain that hurts and I don’t know when it is going to stop. But that’s what faith is: believing in God’s plan when I am at my most vulnerable.
I know mercy and dignity sound so important when someone is dying, but faith and humility are also important, too. I don’t know if I’ll ever be tested in my lifetime. I pray that I won’t be, but I hope that if I am, I will remember that God’s plan is His will and I have devoted my life to having faith in it.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
