Are We a Collection of Illnesses and Pain Syndromes?

Job 36:15 - But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction.

Are we a collection of illnesses and pain syndromes? Is this who we have become? There has to be a balance.
 
You have a choice, while living with chronic pain or illness, to see yourself in either a negative or positive way.  Don’t see yourself as just a person defined by the pain or disease. Don’t surrender and focus just on your pain but take back the ground you’ve lost and see yourself as a stronger person because of it.
 
You may have been told that you have a disability. That somehow you are weaker. But if you take the first three letters off of disability what do you have? Ability. You have the ability to say “no” to those who think of us as just a collection of Illnesses and Pain Syndromes.
 
Every day that you go on despite of the pain is an achievement that you have accomplished. Take this badge of courage, but don’t just put it in the dresser drawer. Take that courage and make a difference by pouring yourself into someone else’s life.
 
They can learn from you and your experiences. Even if it’s a small suggestion, it has the potential to change another person’s life, as you show them how you balance a life of illness and pain syndrome.
 
Huffingtompost.com gives us a picture of how other people can learn from us and our disability in their article, "Ten Things the World Can Learn From People With Disabilities." Some examples are happiness can be found when someone has a broken body, and being different is an opportunity as I’ve said above, that your illness or pain syndrome can resonate with other people if it is shared with the right attitude.
 
Though it may seem difficult, find a way to praise God in spite of the pain. He sees your suffering and if we continue to look to him, he will help us get through the pain. Let your focus be on him and he will give you the ability to go on. And he will never call you a collection of illnesses and pain syndromes.

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