stung

When surprise pain strikes out of nowhere…

I stepped off the bus in the Dominican Republic with the group spilling out behind me and was instantly stung. And I mean S T U N G. It was surprising, and almost insulting. I've been in the Dominican Republic 13 times now and have never been stung. I was quite literally offended by that little creature.

When I felt it, I thought at first it was a fly. But then it didn't buzz off. I literally had to pull it off of me. And then pull the stinger out. Thankfully a sweet teammate from Mississippi was right behind me and had her husband use a card to scrape the last of the stinger out. Then she pulled out her stash of first aid goodies and gave me some relief.

It was so random. Literally one foot off the bus...and boom. Out of nowhere. No basis for the experience. No preparation for responding. Stung and stunned.

And I'm not being dramatic here, but I literally walked away wondering what would happen next... Would I be allergic? It was swelling pretty fast. And painful still. Getting warm. Should I stay close to the bus or another leader in case I needed help?

We were able to keep an eye on it, but thankfully it didn't necessarily get worse as it progressed through the stages of healing.

Then one day later, a girl from the team got stung out of the blue too. And I remind you, in my memory, this has never happened before. And the sweet little dear was nervous. She had never been stung before. It hurt. Was swelling. Getting warm.

Just like mine.

And yet, I was one day ahead of her. I knew what had happened to me and hers looked exactly the same. And I mean, identical. I know people can have unique reactions to stings, which is why we were both nervous and unsure. But ours were the same.I was able to tell her that the exact same thing had happened to me and to assure her that it looked exactly like hers. And then to turn my arm over and show her what it would look like as it healed. To assure her she would be alright.

Just like me.

Then a wave of relief washed me. My offense at being stung dissolved. This sweet girl needed to know she would be OK and I was the one who could show her this reality. The truth.

When surprise pain strikes out of nowhere, when the sting comes, the balm and the healing does come. And here's the stunning reality greater than any sting, the relief we find is assurance for others that they too will know it. There is hope.

Just like ours.

If I could be a stung so a sweet girl would not know fear creeping in, it was not only worth it...it was my joy. I had found comfort, and was then able to offer it to her...and found more comfort in comforting her.

How much more does this speak to the heartaches we all go through? Even more true than the physical pain of a few days from a sting, how much more true of the lifetimes of heartaches?

And here's a necessary truth my brother reminded us of yesterday, stings and pain are a product of the fall. The Lord is not in the business of stinging us as players in the game of life merely so He can use us to comfort others. Yet because of the fall, there is brokenness, there is pain...life stings. But He overcomes! He comforts us, so we can then comfort others.

We carry hope for healing. And this brave hope rises and swells in our hearts all the more when we offer it generously.

"Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Photo credits: Peri McIntosh