The Cracker Jack of Pain—A Surprise with Every Body

If “Life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re gonna get,” chronic pain is like Cracker Jack—“There’s a surprise with every body.”

Be honest—who really bought Cracker Jack to eat the peanuts and caramel corn? It was always about the surprise packed inside the box. Just so, God has planted a surprise for each of us in each day—and the more we expect to see His surprises, the more we’ll find.

Just like Easter egg hunts. There's always the child who only stands around, passively holding her empty basket, whining that she sees no eggs. So she never does. But then there’s the kid who runs from bush to tree, looks sideways and upside down, and returns, beaming, with an overflowing basket of colored eggs.

I want to be that kid.

Living in a pain-filled body might slow us down in the hunt, but we can still rip open the box with gusto, anticipating the prize inside. Many new things await us if we live with open eyes (Proverbs 20:12-13)

With my pain, I’ve already gotten a new vocabulary, new medicine, new TENS unit, new doctors, even a new bed. But those are minor compared to the real surprises that have come with pain.

NEW FRIENDS
Over 23 billion toys have been given away in Cracker Jack boxes. But God makes more than 23 billion criss-crossing connections between friends all over the world, ready to share His message of hope through illnesses.

Through Rest Ministries, I’ve made friends with Lynn—and discovered our common love of books and authors. I’ve received e-mails from Connie and Mrs. Lucy and Sherry, sharing their own stories and offering encouragement for mine. Last week I reconnected with Susan, who invited me to a local HopeKeepers meeting.

God knows who we need to help us in our journey, and who needs us. Let's watch for each other. We’ll share more than pain—we’ll also share joys, belief, struggles, and hope.

NEW FAITH

Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back.

Cracker Jack had been around about 15 years when Norworth and Von Tilzer wrote their famous “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” song in 1908, referencing cracker jack in the lyrics. The song implies that the ball park has everything you need for a home away from home, win or lose.

How at home are we with suffering? It’s often coupled with a loss of mobility or a reduction in activities or an increase in doctor appointments. Who wants to live there?

Yet God still chooses to make my body His temple, His dwelling place, whether I feel broken or not (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). If it’s good enough to be home for Him, it’s good enough to be home for me. He can use even the most ragged bodies as a home away from home until they’re made anew in the heavenly home.

In the beauty of God’s creativity and sovereignty, He somehow, some way, turns all things around for our good, whether we understand it or not (Romans 8:28).

Finding satisfaction in this body is not always easy. But I’m learning that God is faithful in His promises, that He will always be enough. He will provide more faith-building surprises than I can imagine, if I will keep seeking Him (Proverbs 8:17; Ephesians 3:20).

NEW ME
Sailor Jack and his dog Bingo have been living on the Cracker Jack box for almost a hundred years. Still smiling, still saluting, still teasing us to “Guess what’s inside?” They haven’t changed.

But I have.

I’m not the same person now that I was ten years ago. Is it the pain that changed me? Indirectly, yes. At times it’s made me cry and complain and feel discouraged. At times it has frightened me, thinking about the “what if’s” around the corner.

But in bigger times, it’s made me see that life is more than my body, and my body is more than my pain. The “old me” isn’t always happy with this body—I’d rather have something more comfortable and in proper working order, but the “new me” is learning to be content even here (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

So I’ll keep expecting the unexpected ways that God sends us pleasures and delights, making our journeys a little easier, our joys a little fuller, and our peace a little deeper.

And even if we don’t always enjoy the popcorn and peanuts inside the box, let’s keep digging through them until we reach the package inside, rip it open with enthusiasm, and delight in the prize (Jeremiah 29:11-13).

More on PAIN