Pain and Cheetos

I love a good bit of wisdom, even when it comes in the most unexpected situations.

Like at a hospital on Easter.

When I woke up Sunday morning, my stomach hurt a little bit, and I thought it looked a little bigger than normal, but I thought maybe I was just beefing up some. But almost midway through my long run, it started hurting really badly, and I ended up going to the emergency room when we finished the run, because I'd had this pain before and had a feeling I knew what it was: a ruptured cyst. Sure enough, after getting an ultrasound and a bunch of other tests (I don't remember it all, because they had given me something special for my pain through that IV), the doctor told me the cyst was probably what was causing the bulge in my stomach that morning, and it had likely burst while I was running, causing the excruciating pain that ensued.

How lovely.

I spent a good portion of the day there, so I got to have a nice chat with the sweet nurse Lynette, who kept making fun of me for things I had said throughout the day—things I didn't remember saying. She laughed and said I must really like Cheetos, and I just smiled and agreed, though I was quite confused.

Band-Aids can help.

But Lynette also said some things that will stick with me.

At one point, she asked me my level of pain on a scale from 1-10. I said 13. She told me not to worry, because it will eventually become less and less until all of the pain is completely gone. "And I'm not just talking about this explosion within you, little lady," she said. (She has a way with words, obviously.) She reminded me that all pain, whether emotional or physical, will one day subside. I think it's fitting she said this on Easter, the day Jesus rose from the grave after experiencing more pain than we'll ever know when He hung on that cross.

My ruptured cyst will soon be mended; that scrape you got when you fell off your bike will scab over and heal; that nasty break you got in your leg when you landed on it wrong in a basketball game will take time but will still mend; your broken heart will find happiness again; that torn ACL will be repaired; that sunburn will peel and go away (and hopefully turn into a tan). There are many more pains in life, some of which are much more serious. But God is bigger than all of them and will bring healing to them all—even if it doesn't happen while we're on this earth.

Because pain isn't forever, but Jesus is.

I'm not glad I spent Sunday in the hospital, but I'm glad I met Lynette. She was the angel I needed when I was all alone and in need of comfort. And apparently she is willing to help me in other areas of my life.

As she was leaving, she winked and said, "And I'll be sure that surgeon takes you up on that offer for the Cheetos date!"

Oh, good gosh.

At least turning about 82 shades of red doesn't hurt.