What do we do with the massive pain of life?

Ok, so even though what you will read primarily on this blog is that More than more is a group of people with a hopeful outlook on life - that we are searching for something More than the usual stuff that Americans spend their lives pursuing and we are finding life better and more meaningful because of it - we are also not so silly and delusional that we totally miss the MASSIVE amount of pain that life seems to dump on us.

Not that it is just "us" at More than more - it seems to be universal - all people, everywhere, have MASSIVE amounts of pain. Now, granted, some have more than their share and that I totally don't get, but by and large, all people have tons of pain in their lives.

Pain seems to be one of the things that we all have in common - and a lot of it is random - not caused by us, not asked for - just happens.

So, I wanted to spend some time this last Thursday giving some voice to the fact that I totally see the pain. We, at More than more will not run from it. I have spent a lifetime around church people who deny or ignore or "paint a happy face" on their pain (and attempt to on everyone else's too). I have heard over and over again, "Just give it to God." or "Let go and let God." or "What dooesn't kill you will make you stronger." among others - and while there may be some truth in these - they never seem to be very conforting when the doctor throws around the Cancer word, or your spouse has decided that they love someone else.

What would and does bring some degree of comfort is to have some people who actually care about you. Not for what you can provide to them (because in the midst of pain, you only provide them pain). Not for how good looking you are or how wealthy you are (because who looks great with a snotty nose and tear stained cheeks and how many of us are actually wealthy anyway?) But people who actually care about you. People who will listen and hear, people who will hug you if you need it and give you space if you need it. People who actually remember that you are struggling the next time they see you, because they listened. People who might even call you if you were struggling rather than making you call them. That helps.
In fact, it is so much easier to make it through another day in the middle of the pain that we can actually consider the idea that it could someday end - that we might someday become somebody better because of it. But it only feels this way because the idea is all warmed up by the love of the people around us.

So, this is part of what More than more is all about. We truly care about people - yes it is true that we are a messed up bunch - and we have our share of issues too, but we really care about people. There's something about this More than more way of living that takes us there. And it is so much better than anything else I have evr found in the midst of massive pain.

So, we don't ignore pain. We just live through it...together.