The Mask Of Pain . . .

           "Pain,
                     you are a terrible deceiver,
                         parading yourself as an angry foe, pretending to be unyielding.
                              You shadow me,
                                   Hound me,
                                         Taunt me,
                                              as if by your mere presence you could conquer my spirit.

    But I have learned to measure your ultimate strength,
          not by how much hurt you can inflict,
                 but by how much of God's grace you call forth;
                          not by how deeply you can wound,
                                   but by how frail you really are when put in perspective by His power.

                                            And I have learned, at last, to believe that,
                                                  even at your worst,
                                                        you can never outlast a promise of God.
                                                              You can never outlive His love."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      - BJ Hoff

Someone I care for is going through a very painful journey and this poem came to mind. I hope these words of hope encourage. Know that you are loved, that this is not our home and that one day soon there will be no more sorrow, no more tears and all the warmth and light of heaven will out-shadow this temporal journey's pain.