Perception and Pain

An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered.
An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered.
G. K. Chesterton

small_snow-queen-2When I was little, one of my favorite fairy tales was The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, a deeply Christian story. In short, it is about two children, Kay and Gerda, who are best friends until some devils break a mirror in the sky. Shards fall to earth, entering people’s eyes and hearts, and distorting their perception of the world so that everything looks ugly. Kay is carried off by the Snow Queen, and the whole book is about Gerda’s quest to rescue her friend and melt the splinters in his heart and eye.

I once had a good friend who became horribly depressed, and struggled with scruples to boot. In his fog of depression, he saw himself as an evil person, and the world as a terrible place. I spent many months trying to drag him from the pits of despair that he kept falling into, because he kept coming to me for help; in the end, I fell into black despair myself, wounded by his words.

Looking back, one could lament the tremendous psychological and emotional pain seemingly suffered in vain, for really, it was all rather pointless wallowing in negative lies. However, St Faustina tells us: “If the angels were capable of envy, they would envy us for two things: one is the receiving of Holy Communion, and the other is suffering.” So I now take it all as grace, and trust that God had His purposes for permitting our pernicious pain.

I have another friend who kept telling me stories of toxic families, and it made me feel horrendous, because the world began to look like an irredeemably dark place, with everyone entwined by the suffocating snares of their parents’ sins and their own. But in speaking to another friend, I was freed of my worries; she explained that the first friend had her own wounds, which twisted her perception, exaggerating faults into systematic abuse.

It is true, there is evil in the world; but it is also true that God has sent His Son to redeem us, and He is right there beside us, even in the darkest of dark nights. Let us then look to the Cross, laying our burdens, and others’ burdens, down at the feet of Him Who knows all, and Who brings joy out of sadness, triumph out of failure, hope out of despair. Alleluia! Christus surrexit, Christus vincit!

Those who are sowing in tears
will sing when they reap.
They go out, they go out, full of tears,
carrying seed for the sowing:
they come back, they come back, full of song,
carrying their sheaves.
Psalm 126:6


Image: Vadyslav Yerko

Jean Elizabeth Seah

Jean Elizabeth Seah

Jean Elizabeth Seah is a Singaporean living in Australia. She has had several adventures with Our Lord and Our Lady, including running away to join a convent after university. The journey is tough and the path ahead is foggy, but she knows that as long as you hold firmly onto Our Lady’s hand, you’ll make it through! She has also written at Aleteia, MercatorNet and The Daily Declaration.

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1 thought on “Perception and Pain”

  1. We can cast our own burdens on the Lord, but we can’t cast anyone else’s. If they don’t do it for themselves, it doesn’t get done. This is the Biblical way to inner peace. We can only pray that others do it. This is the purpose of evangelizing.

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