Blessing Wrapping

"That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Phil. 3:10)

Oh--yesterday, we had to take my son to the hospital to have some deeply-embedded thorns removed from the heel of his left hand (accident at campground). He was brave--I was so proud of him--tears were streaming down his cheeks, he would gasp and wince and all but never once cried out in pain. When I saw the doctor digging and my son agonizing, I wanted to cry too. The doctor used anesthizing shots 3-4 times (they seemed to hurt something awful too), and it took about 45 mins.!!! There were about 11 thorns removed. We took him to the kindergarten right after that. On the way back, I thought to myself in the car, "to think those were only thorns & needles!"

"I wonder what it must've been like when rough NAILS were DRIVEN completely THROUGH Jesus' wrists, the blood spurting out, no anesthetic, Jesus' expressions of pain. How it must've torn Mary apart!" And, after an ordeal that lasted SEVERAL HOURS, Mary couldn't drive her son to school...He DIED! Probably the only thing that kept Mary from coming apart completely was knowing that Jesus' crucifixion would result in reconciliation, that death on the Cross was something Jesus Himself had wanted....

No, even that wouldn't have been enough for a human mother. Altho' there's no mention of it in the Bible, can't we believe that God would've sent super comfort (can't think of a better way to express it) to Mary at that time?

I wonder if those of us who claim to want to know God's super blessings are willing to experience the agonizing pains that often precede them?

Let sorrow do its work, send grief and pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain
When they can sing with me,
"More love O Christ, to Thee!"
More love to Thee,
more love to Thee!