Poem – The Purpose of Pain

Life is a map that has many twists and turns.
Life shows us what we have learned and earned.
Life tears down the layers of denial.
Life walks with us each and every mile.

There are parts that we might wish away.
Because they caused so much heartache and dismay.
But those moments are the places where we truly grew.
We learned that in hardship, we can break through.

Pain is a marker saying we have reached the end of the line.
Pain is a screaming song from another time.
It makes us notice where we left a part of us behind.
Those places are the gems in the mud being refined.

Do not deny the bad or the good.
Your life is flowing exactly as it should.
Within all seasons, there might be rain.
Sometimes rust is needed to break the chain.

~Suzanne Wagner~