The Crucible of Physical Pain For those who suffer from physical pain console yourselves for nothing happens without just cause, for the Creator is All Love. But, it is a love that a father has for his children, who teaches us through trial and error and by our own merit. Therefore, we reap what we sow until we have spiritually and morally matured through our own efforts.   Spiritism teaches us that if we suffer, we are either expiating our past life indiscretions, and/or have accepted a test of our faith, and/or have accepted a mission to incite compassion in others while also using it as a means towards the further purification of our souls. Remember, we are never given a load heavier than what we can handle and so we must gather up all the spiritual strength we can in order to fulfill our duties and obligations in this lifetime without complaint.   We are also never alone in our sufferings for we have our guardian spirit protector who is our truest friend. This spirit sees all our sorrows and tries, if we let them, to raise us above our pain. They try to ease our sufferings (although they usually cannot take them away due to the law of cause and effect) with helpful suggestions that calm our souls and ease our minds in order for us to become more serene, accepting, and resigned to our situation. We also have the spirits of friends and relatives who love and care for us, and those in this world too, who try to help us as best they can. The Creator Has also given us another tool to assist us in the trials and tribulations of life and that is through – PRAYER. Cry out to God and His Messengers at your most poignant moments of suffering that seem like torture and you will feel, if you merit it, those beneficial spiritual fluids from Up High that will keep you from those feelings of despair and hopelessness!   Be resigned my friends, for one material life is of very short duration, each pain suffered with honest resignation is putting you one step higher on the ladder of your spiritual and moral regeneration and will help transform your soul.   Your physical body upon death converts to ashes but a submissive soul carrying his pain with humility will be released from its captivity transformed into a soul purified, light, and resplendent into the spirit world. So be strong! Your rewards will be great but will only be realized there; for in the afterlife, will you find the gentle care and needed repose you have earned, like a brave soldier after a terrible battle.                                                                   Inspirationally received by Yvonne Limoges [Note: While caring for my husband, who died of cancer in August 2004, I came down with systemic erythematosus lupus that causes extreme joint pain. It is a new chapter of experience in my life. I dedicate this writing to all those who suffer. - Y.L.]