A good friend of mine and I once got into a heated debate over whether or not it was worthwhile to debate the meaning of words. Is it fruitful to just sit around and have philosophical debates over the meaning of words all day long? I guess it depends how much you like philosophy.
I have always been of the stance that philosophy does have a point. But, it’s hard to take philosophy down from the clouds sometimes and make it directly applicable to our daily life.
Either way, I began searching for a reason why it might be a good idea to debate the definition of a word for an extended period of time. I finally got my answer in the delivery room.
I should throw out there that I am a doula. A doula is a trained support person who accompanies laboring moms in the delivery room and supports them both emotionally and physically. We ride the rollercoaster of emotions and help the moms get into positions favorable for birth.
One mom I helped of late I found in a real struggle. She had pushed for three and a half hours to no avail. She screamed aloud in frustration, prayed feverishly, and wept. She was working SO hard. It was so difficult to watch her work so hard only to be told hour after hour that there was no progress. The baby was RIGHT there. But wouldn’t come out.
My very wise doula trainer once told me that there is a difference between pain and suffering. Every pregnant woman should probably expect to be in pain at some point – and a great deal of it at that. However, what most people really fear is suffering. And there is a difference between the two.
As I tried to comfort the woman, it was very clear that we had crossed the threshold from pain into suffering. We as humans are able to tolerate so much pain – knowing that our pain is getting us somewhere or it is some form of tough love. But when our pain isn’t productive, we can easily begin to suffer in our disappointment.
Jesus underwent a painful death. And in his moments of true suffering, He probably wondered, “Is this really getting us anywhere? Is this really all for nothing? Why me??”
The good news is that His pain was for a greater purpose: the salvation of the world. Even if he didn’t see results in his struggle, it served both God and humanity ultimately.
May our pain be in service of becoming a better Christian, serving God and one another. May it give birth to higher meaning.
Christina Gebel works at the University of Chicago and spends her off days attending births with the Chicago Volunteer Doulas. Christina came to Chicago to do two years of service with the Amate House program here in Chicago, where she served as a high school teacher in Little Village. She graduated from Saint Louis University with bachelors in theology and psychology. She loves time with friends and family and enjoys photography on the side.
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