The Mustard Seed

We learn in the scriptures that if man has faith the size of a mustard seed he will have the ability to move large mountains. I have always believed this. Yesterday I learned when man has a kidney stone the size of a mustard seed traveling through his pipes he has the ability to fall hopelessly to the floor, cry out in agony and wish he could return to his origins in the pre-existence. My poor Craig spent the day in the hospital under the haze of a morphine drip that was supposed to bring the agony into a respectable location. After four doses, he was able to see straight again and make coherent sentences. Later on in the day, when the nurse announced that it was time to go home, to where he would continue to pass the stone in the comfort of our home, his face went white and it looked like they were going to have to call security before he would let go of his IV pole filled with narcotic. The nurse assured him that the cat scan showed the stone had gone through the most difficult part of the journey and all that was left was a little scenic tour to end off the trip. He reluctantly believed her and we headed for home after what felt like a very long day.

A Little Lesson:
I have experienced childbirth three times without drugs, a kidney stone while 8 months pregnant, a blocked gal stone while 6 months pregnant, a c-section and a few broken bones back in my club volleyball days. Physical pain is one of the dreaded experiences we endure on earth that teaches us two perspectives we can in no other way truly appreciate. One, we appreciate what a gift good health is when our bodies aren't working the way they should. When our back hurts, or tummy aches, or head throbs we long for the good health we experienced before the pain began. Two, we taste a minute fraction of what it must of been like for the Savior of the world to hang on the cross on our behalf. In my thirty seven years of living and watching others live, I am not sure which is worse physical or emotional pain. I am convinced though, that they both serve as a way for us to commune more deeply with God and increase our faith as we find new and better paths in which to travel on.