As we begin to peel away our layers of wounds, I ask God to touch those that are hurting and don't understand why. Because our culture is so ingrained with needing answers to everything, we instinctively want to know "Why". Why did we get hurt? Why do these types of things always happen to me? As a person who loves God, why did I get hurt in this situation? As much as I want to give a generic answer as to why we must experience pain, I confess that I do not have the answer. I do know, however, that our pain shapes us into who we are. And we can choose to be bitter and resentful about the experience, or we can choose to be loving and forgiving after the experience. Bitterness always breeds so

God is a god of love, peace and joy, but pain is a part of life. His desire is to help you endure the pain, as you grow into the person He designed you to become. In my past, whenever I encountered a painful situation, I used to ask myself, why did I have to go through that? I have come to the realization that God designs everything for His purpose. And that purpose is not always about me. He allows situations to happen that can impact many lives. My situation can be a tool that can help someone else. Maybe there’s someone who needs to hear how I made it through. Maybe my pain can help someone, who doesn’t know how great He is, get to know Him. Maybe my pain can lead someone else to a fuller