Lent Reflections Week 7: Pain

The worst pain I ever experienced was emotional rather than physical. In my early twenties I lost my beloved dog when I let him off the lead in some woodland and he didn’t come back when called. After searching until dark I went home and reported him missing to the police. Every day I rang the police to ask if he had been found. Every day they told me no. I continued searching the woods, and put up posters in the local shops and the students union, offering a reward. I searched all day and at night I cried myself to sleep. The anguish of not knowing what had happened to him was unbearable. I missed him so much and of course I felt horribly guilty too.

After about a week a student rang me to say that he had followed her home and she had taken him to the police. I rang the police back and insisted they re-check their records. Oh sorry, they said, there’s been a mix-up – he was found and he was taken to a kennel in Huddersfield. A friend drove me to collect him. As we pulled into the car park I heard the heart-rending sound of him howling and I knew he’d been doing that all week. The joy when we were reunited was incredible. I thought my heart was going to burst out of my chest with love. Tears of relief poured down my face as I hugged him close. After a week in kennels he smelled terrible!!

My story of pain had a happy ending, but so many don’t. Today I think of all those for whom pain, whether physical or emotional, is a constant companion.