…I didn't know where I was headed and couldn’t picture when things would ever get better. Everything inside of me was again spiraling out of control. But my physical health, for the first time in fifteen years, was NOT. What I've learned about chronic pain helped me process the emotions I needed to feel instead of the physical pain I previously felt.

The Mind The Pain small group through Eastside Christian Church explores the parallels between Biblical truths and pain management techniques. Each week, we split our time focusing on "Pain Parallels" and "Pain Perspectives", giving participants the opportunity to draw their own conclusions on what the Bible says about pain (physical and emotional) and healing.

…Thankfully, as a follower of Jesus, I know that real and lasting hope isn’t found in a date on the calendar, a vaccine, or life going back to “normal.” Even when it does, life is still going to happen. Illness is still going to come. Heartbreak and pain are a part of this world we live in. And as the new year approached, with all of these thoughts going through my mind, it was time for me to decide on my New Year’s Resolution. We had a guest pastor at Eastside several years ago share an idea that I’ve made a habit.

I would later learn that these traits, many of which were positive, would be one of the many things contributing to the debilitating pain that I was in. 1 in 5 people suffer from chronic pain — but you’d never know it because chronic pain is invisible. It was incredibly difficult looking like a healthy teenager on the outside while feeling like my body was falling apart on the inside. For nine years, I sought out every doctor, physical therapist and treatment I could find. With all negative results and lack of answers, I persevered. And I continued to live a “normal” life the best I knew how. But time and again my body would betray me and a new health challenge would arise.

What a silly question. And actually, kind of offensive. Of course everyone wants to get well. But so often we can get stuck in the struggle, especially when others tell us that we are a certain way or that we’ll never recover, that it becomes part of our identity.

I recently had the privilege of being interviewed for the all-new Pain Podcast by Bloodstream Media. This was the first time I had the opportunity to really share the science behind what helped me most on my healing journey.

1 in 5 people in the United States suffer from chronic pain, although you may not see it because pain is invisible.