Pain is a funny thing.
As far as emotional pain is concerned, I like to think about it as a catalyst. Like a fire, it burns in your heart, changing it into something else. But unlike in physical reality, you can choose the product of the chemical reaction.
Some people choose to allow pain to turn their heart to hate and blame. The heart, a symbol for compassion and love, becomes angry, hard, narrow-minded, and judgmental. Indeed, the parts of the brain associated with judgment are over-active when we hate someone. It's awful that love can more easily turn to hate than apathy; love and hate use some of the same parts of the brain, so it's an easy transition. Those we love, or have loved, are in the most danger of our disdain and fury.
I'm choosing to allow pain to turn my heart to the Savior; I'm use pain as a positive catalyst. I never really understood how hate can be tempting until recently. But for my Savior today, I'm trying to give Him my heart as well as my brain so that He can stop my love from changing into something else.
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