Listen to your life.....

“God, I hated you after the rape! How could you let this happen to me? And I hated the people in this church who tried to comfort me. I didn’t want comfort. I wanted revenge. I wanted to hurt back. I thank you, God, that you didn’t give up on me, and neither did some of these people. You kept after me, and I come back to you now and ask that you heal the scars in my soul.”

Clear, wavering voice of a young woman during open prayer time – Yancey “Prayer” p. 89.

Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it not less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.

Frederick Buechner “Now and Then”

So we need not fear our pain. It is part of our story. While a source of despair, it's also a root of creativity. We embrace it, and find God is there.