• Dreams
  • Faith
  • Identity
    • Deliverance
    • Gratitude
  • Marriage
  • Obedience
  • Pain
  • Parenting
    • Kids
    • Adoption
  • Prayer
  • Series
    • Hearing from God
    • Living Content
    • Royalty
    • The Lies we Believe
    • Walking in Obedience

Faith|Fullness

Where the journey of saying "yes" to the Lord, has lead me

  • Home
  • Meet Anna
    • Disclaimers
  • Blog
  • Books to Read
  • Contact

Stay connected and get all the latest

You are here: Home / Identity / Choosing Pain

Choosing Pain

My husband is a member of a local Rotary club and recently he was asked to write an article for their monthly newsletter. When the newsletter came out and he showed me what he had shared with the club, I immediately knew I had to share it with all of you too! I am so proud of him for being bold and sharing this with his peers because I don’t know anyone who wants to talk about the topic of pain, except for those who take it on as the victim roll, and let it own them. I’m proud of him for confronting our cultural avoidance of pain, and for being honest about the consequences of what that does. I’ll stop chatting now and let you read his article –

Our society, in large part, is trained from an early age to avoid pain.

We start as parents with good intentions – to protect our children, but we have moved far beyond that and created a culture where numbing or avoiding pain is mainstream.

Avoidance of pain is the pursuit of convenience and comfort.

Those who do not conform to this mindset are seen as “odd”, they are counter-cultural.

Why don’t you buy a new, nicer car rather than drive that beater?

Why do you run for hours at a time?

Why are you working two jobs?

Why would you get into the office every morning before daylight?

The majority of our society doesn’t have a grid for people who practice “uncomfortable behaviors”. But, when you take the long view from these questions you see the results of choosing into pain, and choosing out of immediate comfort.

The guy driving the beater car, that he owns outright, is able to save money and accumulate wealth. The person that spends hours running is healthy both physically and mentally. The single mom that is working two jobs is teaching her children what it looks like to work hard and earn their way in life. The business-person that gets to the office before daylight each day grows a successful company that becomes a legacy and supports a growing number of employee families.

We are not taught to pursue and endure pain, we are taught to be victims and to blame others for our circumstances.

If someone else is more successful at something, we attribute their success to luck or privilege rather than to years of hard work.  If something is hard or painful, we throw ourselves a pity party and surround ourselves with other victims.

How do we learn to embrace pain? How do we go about adopting the long-view in life? How do we learn to see ourselves accurately?

When something hurts, we need to stay in it long enough to ask the questions: “is this pain good or bad for me in the long run”?  and “what will come of me if I endure this pain?”

We need to know the answer to these questions before seeking reprieve. We need to begin pursuing relationship with people that we want to be like. Getting to know people we admire will provide the perspective for us to see how they navigated their journey. Lastly, we need to surround ourselves with peers who empower us rather than enable our victim mentality.

Being uncomfortable is not easy. Walking the painful road is oftentimes lonely.

But it is worth the investment.

No one accomplishes anything great in life by being safe and comfortable or by being a victim.

The future is in the hands of those who have grown broad shoulders to carry pain and doubt, a strong heart that can push past defeat and eyes that are constantly focusing down the road rather than looking behind.

Will you choose a life of comfort or a life of greatness?

Painful experiences do wonders to change your life.” Proverbs 20:30b

We are not taught to pursue and endure pain, we are taught to be victims and to blame others for our circumstances, but no one accomplishes anything great in life by being safe and comfortable, or by being a victim. | Faith-Fullness.net

Faith-Fullness.net

Save

Save

Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
Send email Mail
Print Print

Filed Under: Identity, Pain 1 Comment

« The Desires of your Heart
Contentment »

Comments

  1. Renee says

    July 6, 2017 at 6:18 am

    This is so good! I love watching you both pastor in your circle of influence!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Meet Anna

Hi, I'm Anna! Wife, mother, child of God, and the founder of Faith|Fullness. The pages of this blog are filled with my journeys of faith and the adventures that saying "yes" to God have taken me on. Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

Don’t miss a post

Popular Posts

Coveting and comparison come from our lack of belief that God is good. Our lack of faith tells us we know what we need, better than God does. Is your heart filled with thanksgiving and gratitude for all the blessings God has already given you, or is it filled with comparison and a covetous spirit because you don't think God has given you everything you "deserve"? | Faith-Fullness.net

Living Content: Comparison

We want so badly to prove our independence that we forget to include God in the process. We forget that He is the author and creator of our life and our destiny. | Faith-Fullness.net

Searching for Independence

Categories

  • Adoption (6)
  • Deliverance (3)
  • Dreams (5)
  • Faith (20)
  • Gratitude (2)
  • Identity (19)
  • Kids (6)
  • Marriage (5)
  • Obedience (10)
  • Pain (10)
  • Parenting (7)
  • Prayer (4)
  • Series (36)
    • Hearing from God (5)
    • Living Content (10)
    • Royalty (6)
    • The Lies we Believe (9)
    • Walking in Obedience (6)

Meet Anna

Hi, I'm Anna! Wife, mother, child of God, and the founder of Faith|Fullness. The pages of this blog are filled with my journeys of faith and the adventures that saying "yes" to God have taken me on. Read More…

Find me on Instagram – @anna_m_moseley

anna_m_moseley

anna_m_moseley
It’s this beautiful girl’s birthday today and It’s this beautiful girl’s birthday today and I couldn’t be more proud of who she has grown into these last 12 years. My favorite thing about her, is her heart; believe it or not, she’s even more beautiful on the inside than on the outside. She loves hard, gives generously, champions her friends and encourages effortlessly. She is someone I admire, and watching her, continually challenges me to be a better person. We love you Malea Elizabeth. Happy 12th birthday! 🥳💜🤗
I love Thanksgiving. 🦃 Even in this chaotic, I love Thanksgiving. 
🦃 
Even in this chaotic, pandemic year, we still have so much to be thankful for. Yesterday we spent the day with family, did our own 2 mile Turkey Trot, cooked all day, and then feasted all night. 
🦃
I’m thankful for our home, and that we got to host our first Thanksgiving there, I’m thankful for our health and I’m thankful that we have so much to be thankful for. Blessings to you and your family this holiday weekend.💛
Eleven years of pumpkin patch adventures with this Eleven years of pumpkin patch adventures with this cutie. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown, but I love watching her grow and doing all sorts of fun adventures with our little family. 🧡🎃🧡
Meet Maverick. He’s the latest addition to our f Meet Maverick. He’s the latest addition to our family after @mmoseley15 texted me a picture of 5 kittens found at the bank this morning (scroll to the end to see). Malea is in love, and total shock, and we’ve all had lots of kitten snuggles today. The plan is to have him me an outdoor, eat the pests, kind of cat but we’ll see how snuggly he ends up being. He might just win us over and be our new favorite. #MavericktheKitten
First day of 7th grade! I am excited for Malea to First day of 7th grade! I am excited for Malea to be back at school today but I am also going to miss her. These past six months have been such a blessing from the Lord. There were definitely days we both needed our space but the majority of the time we learned and grew so much from each other, and laughed along the way. I am proud of the young woman she is becoming and I can’t wait to see how much more she grows this year. 
📝
Happy first day of school!!! (We’ll see how long it lasts).
📝
Trinidad Day 2- A hike through ferns and redwoods, Trinidad Day 2- A hike through ferns and redwoods, Big Lagoon Beach, sunny skies and beautiful fog in the distance, Moonstone Beach, barre at the beach, chasing waves and bunk bed chats. Today was the best. #trinidadcalifornia #tralierlife #trailerlifeisthebest #showmeyourstrength #barreblend
Trinidad day 1- I love the ocean so much. I love t Trinidad day 1- I love the ocean so much. I love the sounds, the constant crashing of the waves, my feet in the sand, watching kids be kids and running in the waves, I love everything about being at the ocean. Our first night in Trinidad was awesome, we played at the beach, saw a gorgeous sunset, celebrated a birthday, watched part of a movie, then had mom and dad time by the fire. Trailer life, mixed with ocean life, really is the best. 
🌊 #trailerlife #trinidadcalifornia
More pictures from this weekend because I just lov More pictures from this weekend because I just love this place so much, I wanted to share. 😉
My happy place. We love our trailer but once a yea My happy place. We love our trailer but once a year we pack up the tent and head up to the Trinity Alps for a fun filled weekend. The last 3 days were spent unplugged, laughing harder than I have in a long time, floating in Canyon Creek with a drink in hand, hiking 8 miles to jump off a waterfall, watching the kids tube down the rapids for hours, eating amazing camp food, and generally just being so thankful God created such a beautiful place for us to enjoy. I’ve always loved camping at this spot but this year I decided it’s my happy place because every year I look forward to our few days there, our escape from reality, our peaceful slice of Heaven that we get to enjoy with friends. 
#camping #trinitynationalforest  #canyoncreek #thankful
The last two days of our trip were spent with my s The last two days of our trip were spent with my sister, and her family, in Truckee, CA. It was two great days of relaxing, cousin playtime, kitten snuggles/playing, ripsticking down big hills, lounging on Donner Lake, the girl’s paddle boarding and kayaking, and of course life lessons like - how to blow up your own floaty, and how to chug champagne when you’re wearing a mask😆. We are headed home today but after 2 weeks of traveling I’m not quite ready for it to end, with the exception of Boulder City, this trip has been near perfection. Now to plan, and look forward to, next summer’s big trailer trip!!! #truckeecalifornia #donnerlake #moseleyrvtrip2020
Day 10 - Bodie. Before leaving Bridgeport we heade Day 10 - Bodie. Before leaving Bridgeport we headed over to Bodie, a huge ghost town where homes, hotels, stores, and even the school have everything left in them, just as they were back in the early 1900’s. This was such a cool experience to step back in time and walk through this old mining town. 
#bodiecalifornia #ghosttown #moseleyRVtrip2020
Day 9 - More from Bridgeport. We love it here, wis Day 9 - More from Bridgeport. We love it here, wish we had a couple more days to explore the surrounding beauty, watch the incredible sunsets and relax with this killer view from our trailer. 
#bridgeportcalifornia #moseleyRVtrip2020
Day 9 - Bridgeport. This place has so much beauty! Day 9 - Bridgeport. This place has so much beauty! The girls played on the beach at the RV park this morning, @mmoseley15 went on a trail run, we spent a couple hours on the beaches of Twin Lakes, which is definitely one of the most stunning places we’ve been so far, then we finished off the afternoon with the girls playing in the water back at the RV park. I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this place before, this is definitely a “must come back to” stop for us! #bridgeportcalifornia #moseleyrvtrip2020.
Day 8 - More from Bridgeport. I know I posted some Day 8 - More from Bridgeport. I know I posted some yesterday but I had to share these too. This place is so beautiful! 
#bridgeportcalifornia #moseleyrvtrip2020
Day 8 - Bridgeport. We got up early and headed out Day 8 - Bridgeport. We got up early and headed out of Beatty before it could get over 90. We spent 4 hours on the road today, which was our longest since day 2, but it was so beautiful! NV to CA, back to NV, then landing in CA. We saw everything from the “Loneliest Highway”, to a bull in the middle of the road, some of the highest mountain peaks of the trip, to the stunning Lake Mead. The trip went by quickly because the views were incredible and the girls were amazing. And when we pulled into Bridgeport, it did not disappoint. 30 degrees cooler than Boulder City, incredible views of the mountains, warm swimming water for the girls, and a beautiful thunderstorm. We are looking forward to a full day of relaxing, swimming, and maybe even boating here tomorrow. And the best part is, the high is supposed to be 85 degrees. 🙌🏻
#bridgeportcalifornia #moseleyrvtrip2020
Day 7 - Beatty. This day started out as a HUGE bum Day 7 - Beatty. This day started out as a HUGE bummer. We woke up in our air conditioned hotel, only to find out that someone had stolen @mmoseley15’s mountain bike out of the back of our truck. I don’t know if you’ve ever had something stolen but it feels so violating to have your stuff taken, not to mention the cost to recoup such an expensive item. 😭 So with heavy hearts we got ready then walked down the street to have a delicious breakfast at the famous @theworldfamouscoffeecup. From there we packed up and drove to the middle of nowhere, Beatty, Nevada. Our RV park was great but still being 109, the trailer struggled. Fortunately the girls did amazing and hardly complained about the heat, instead they spent the day inside playing games and putting together puzzles. The highlight of the day was getting to visit the ghost town, Rhyolite. I’ve always wanted to visit a ghost town so even though it was hot, it was super cool. 
#rhyoliteghosttown #beattynevada #moseleyrvtrip2020
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Looking for something?

Find Posts by Month

Copyright © 2021 · Faithful theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2021 · Faithful Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in