Pain--An Unsung Hero

Little Ashlyn Blocker can't feel the pain that would make the toughest men in the world cry out loud. She has a rare genetic disorder (congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis, or CIPA), which hindered the development of her nerves that carry pain senses to the brain. (You can search for her story on Google).

She has eaten through her tongue and severely burned her hand not realizing it rested on an extremely hot pressure washer. Ashlyn runs the risk of slurping down scolding hot soup that could irreparably damage her throat. Pain is no friend to Ashlyn; it's a stranger she'll never meet.

Some might venture to assume Ashlyn's numbness as a blessing, but not Ashlyn nor her parents. She lives her life on constant tragedy alert. Her parents have to monitor her every move. At any moment she could kill herself because pain doesn't hang around warning her to stop hurting herself.

Pain, an unsung hero...

Countless lives have escaped death because of pain. One day your right side begins to hurt terribly, you go to the doctor, discover you have appendicitis, take care of it and go home; not Ashlyn and those like her. They die never to realize what took them.

Pain warns, strengthens, develops, teaches and saves people. God's blessings include pain. James discussed how the pain of trials should find welcome among Christians (James 1:2-3). Through various pains, emotional or physical, people experience spiritual refinement.

Atheists would say that the harsh realities of pain bolster their argument that a loving God doesn't exist or he'd eliminate pain.

Why don't they ask Ashlyn how she feels about that?