A parable of a 14-year-old’s broken pinkie and the 10 seconds of pain she is asked to endure. Are we brave enough and have faith enough to not focus on the pain we have to endure now but instead focus on the greater eternal happiness we are promised?
Only Two Options
One day I took my soccer-loving, fourteen-year-old daughter Sydney to the doctor. She had previously broken her right pinkie in one of her soccer games. We were there for a follow-up exam. As the doctor examined her colorfully bruised pinkie, he laid her hand out flat on the examining table. He then asked her to put her fingers together. Sydney completed this task with no hint of pain or discomfort but something else happened we weren’t expecting. Her pinkie stuck out just enough to be noticeable. It was as if her pinkie had a mind of its own. No matter how hard Sydney tried, she couldn’t get her pinkie to line up straight next to her other fingers. The doctor continued his examination and then gave Sydney an option. She could either A) let her pinkie stick out for the rest of her life or B) he could give her a shot that would numb her pinkie and then he’d put it back into its proper place.
As soon as the word “shot” reached Sydney’s ears, her eyes instantly began to fill with tears and the word “NO” formed on her lips. Poor girl, I couldn’t blame her for being upset. What child likes to get a shot? What adult likes to get a shot? You don’t see too many people jumping for joy when shots are involved. And then to get a shot in your hand, no less. It’s not like there is a lot of fat there to cushion the injection as there is in your upper arm. I felt for her. This was going to be a big decision for my daughter to make – especially one that would cause her so much pain if she chose option B.
The doctor and nurse left Sydney and I alone in the examining room while she made her decision. As much as I knew it would pain my daughter, I felt that in the end – when all was said and done – that she would one day regret not having the doctor straighten her pinkie to look normal again. Being a mom can be hard sometimes. Here I am trying to reason with my fourteen-year-old daughter as to why she should suffer right now because I was sure in the end she’d be thankful she did. I did my best to reason with her as to why she shouldn’t go the easiest and least painful route but rather encouraged her to endure the pain – pain that I was sure to only last 10 seconds and then she’d be able to have a normal pinkie for the rest of her life. Just 10 seconds of pain now to have a normal pinkie for a lifetime.
Her Brave Decision
Being the tough and level-headed daughter, I knew her to be, she made me very proud when she agreed to be brave and get the shot so that the doctor could put her pinky back into place. My heart ached, as only a mother’s heart could when one shot turned into three and I had to watch her endure the pain of the whole experience. When it was all over, I was so proud of her for not just taking the easy way out but for being willing and able to endure it all so well with little to no complaint, only silently shedding a few brave tears.
Sydney impressed her doctor as well. In the end, the doctor complimented her by letting her know she did better than most grown men. Most grown men would have yanked their hand away and not sat still, but Sydney held strong and didn’t move. She managed to hold her hand still, enduring it all until it was finally over.
Choosing the Harder Right Instead of the Easier Wrong
As I thought about this experience, I compared it to our own lives. Sometimes, do we not do things because all we can think about is how hard it will be or the pain and struggle we will have to endure before we reach the end result? Are there times when we know we should apologize or make things right with someone, but overcoming our pride seems way too hard? Has there ever been a time when we knew we needed to repent but it was much easier to just ignore it and keep living each day with the transgression?
How many times do we talk ourselves out of wonderful, life-changing experiences because we don’t want to put forth the effort or endure the pain we are sure to feel? How often do we choose the easier wrong instead of the harder right?
So often it is the pain and struggle that we fear more than the end result that we should be anticipating. How different would our lives be if we focused more on the long-lasting, life-changing, sure-to-be outcome rather than our “10 seconds” of pain? In an eternal perspective, we are giving up greater, eternal happiness for mere seconds of uncomfortable pain. Pain not even near in comparison to what our Savior willingly endured for us.
It takes faith, that’s for sure. Faith that yes, it will be 1,000 times better in the end. And faith to imagine the feeling of happiness we will experience even before we reach the end.
May we each be brave enough and have faith enough to face those hard things in life. The hard things that we know deep down we need to do. May we put our focus on the end result rather than the uncomfortable pain it will take to get there. If we do so, we will find our joy.
**Be sure and check out this Faith quote that goes great with this story. Click HERE
Yours Truly,
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: What are you fearing or reluctant to do in your life? How can you have faith to endure those “10 seconds of pain” for a far greater happiness in the end?
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