Okay, I confess to a bit of juvenile fun. Plants, fish, even the hummingbird that visits each year – I have a name for them all. Even if it is “Silly” or “Birdie,” each flitting, swimming, and growing thing gets some sort of name. And with that name, comes a sort of funny familiarity that makes “bad” days brighter. So, what about naming our pain?

A few years ago, I wrote an article about the importance of laughter and humor when living with chronic health conditions. One person I interviewed talked about enduring a very long hospital stay. When he was finally able to walk the halls, he had to still take along his IV drip (on wheels). Not an easy sight, I’m sure, but he handled it masterfully, putting a hat and gown on the IV pole and introducing it to the nurses on the floor as his “girlfriend.” Talk about bringing light to a dark place! No one could look pityingly on him and his health battle when he faced it with such humor.

Another funny story that I’ve come across is of a woman doubled over with “Arthur-itis” – a name that immediately takes the anonymity and some of the seriousness off of her mood.

Some might accuse us of “sugarcoating” our conditions, or perhaps even denying they exist. But I’ve found that, the more we find creative ways to deal with the illness or pain that lives within us, the more we’ll be able to rise above it and truly be as God intends for us to be – light for the world.

Now, what will you name your pain?

Blessings for the day,

Maureen