This is what the road in front of my house looks like. It\u2019s\ndirty, disgusting, loud and annoying. And it\u2019s been going on all summer. But I\ncouldn\u2019t be more relieved to have the road crew here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are saving my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HOW FLINT SAVED GRAND RAPIDS<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before 2014, American\u2019s never concerned themselves with clean water. That\u2019s an African problem, we believed. It took the Flint crisis of 2014<\/a> to wake us up to the devastation caused by unclean water. It took the death of 12 people and another 84 people contracting a waterborne illness for us to realize the severity of this issue and finally speak up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because the brave people of Flint chose to speak up and fight this atrocity against a system stacked against them, cities across the nation had a wake-up call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GRAND RAPIDS, TOO?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the summer we were notified our street would be ripped up and under construction for five months due to lead pipes that needed to be changed out. We had zero clue that our drinking water might have been compromised. But Grand Rapids chose to preemptively address a potentially hazardous situation so we wouldn’t become the next FLINT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good people of FLINT have suffered for 5 years as they\u2019ve battled for the basic human right of clean water. But BECAUSE OF THEIR SUFFERING, I didn\u2019t have to. Growing children in our neighborhood won\u2019t suffer debilitating effects from lead exposure. Unborn babies on our street won\u2019t have preventable birth defects due to lead their mommas unknowingly ingested. I can\u2019t explain the gratitude I feel toward the whole city of FLINT<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quite often, our pain and suffering, can be used to bring good to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because maybe sometimes we have to suffer so others don’t have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AND HERE\u2019S THE THING: IT\u2019S TRUE FOR ALL OUR SUFFERING!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was promiscuous in college. It was the darkest, most painful season of my life. But I made it even worse by keeping it a secret for 12 years. It wasn\u2019t until I shared my past with my husband that we were able to work through the pain and suffering and find wholeness and redemption on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I tell everyone who will listen about that worst season\nof my life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHY? Because it\u2019s the ONLY WAY my pain gets redeemed! If I can help to prevent just one young person from taking the same dangerous path I took, it gives my pain purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No one wants to suffer. And Christians are notorious for trying to convince us we don\u2019t have to. (You know, \u201cJust-follow-Jesus-and-you-will-never-suffer-again). But it\u2019s a lie. Jesus was very clear on the subject: \u201cIn this world you will have trouble and suffering, but have courage, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will suffer. But the story does NOT have to end there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LESSONS FROM A WOUND<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a nurse, I\u2019ve learned the only way a deep wound can heal is with debridements – frequent and consistent cleanings with removal of infectious tissue. Deep wounds require light, air, and debridements. If you cover them up and leave an infectious deep wound alone, the infection will spread and kill you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same is true for the painful, dark parts of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can always choose to cover those parts up – refusing to expose them to light and cleansing – but that’s how they’ll slowly kill us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THANK-YOU FLINT PEOPLE!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine if the crisis in FLINT was covered up and never exposed? As someone on immunosupressants, it wouldn’t be long before lead ingestion would have made me terribly sick. And probably all across America people would be unknowingly drinking dirty water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, if I never shared with my kids the pain and suffering I caused in our marriage because of the terrible choices I made in college, my own kids might have suffered the same fate. How tragic!!! I refused to let that happen!!! So I put the fear of God in my kids regarding premarital sex \u2013 hoping and praying they could hold off until marriage. I may have carried it wee bit too far when my daughter recently confided, \u201cMom, You were so anti-boys and dating, I was honestly terrified of my first kiss!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, my point is this: Do NOT hide your pain and suffering. Share it at the appropriate times, in the appropriate places, and with the appropriate people so that others may learn from your pain and, if possible, avoid it themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s such a tangible way to spread LOVE to our brothers and sisters on this planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSuffering ceases to be suffering when we find meaning for it\u201d Viktor Frankl<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is what the road in front of my house looks like. It\u2019s dirty, disgusting, loud and annoying. And it\u2019s been going on all summer. But I couldn\u2019t be more relieved to have the road crew here. They are saving my life. HOW FLINT SAVED GRAND RAPIDS Before 2014, American\u2019s never concerned themselves with clean […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1560,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,33,1],"tags":[52,71,105,111],"yoast_head":"\n