“We can endure much more than we think we can; all human experience testifies to that. All we need to do is learn not to be afraid of pain. Grit your teeth and let it hurt. Don’t deny it, don’t be overwhelmed by it. It will not last forever. One day, the pain will be gone and you will still be there.
~ Harold Kushner When All You’ve Ever Wanted Isn’t Enough
You may have read this quote thinking, “But he has no idea of what I’m going through right now.”. And you are right. He doesn’t. But Rabbi Kushner has endured his own pain. His book on the problem of evil, When Bad Things Happen to Good People was written following the death of his 14 year old son who was diagnosed with progeria (rapid aging), at age 3, just hours after the birth of his second child, a daughter, Ariel. At the time of his death, Aaron Kushner weighed a mere 25 pounds.
Rabbi Kushner knows endurance, knows grief, knows loss, and yet, can attest to the resilience of the human spirit. Pain will not overwhelm you forever. Trust the process. Trust your own endurance. Find support when you need it and trust that becoming suddenly single will, in time, be a chapter in your life story not your entire life story.
Do not be afraid of pain. Grit your teeth and let it hurt.
Photo by Daniel Tafjord on Unsplash
