From Immense Pain to Incredible Purpose

I wrote a couple weeks ago about lions and their hunting tactics. A female lion doesn’t have a mane, so that she can camouflage herself in the bushes. It’s the male lions who make those terrifying roaring noises, and as the prey run away from the noise, they end up running straight towards where the lionesses are hiding. Lionesses lack a mane. Their purpose is found in something they lack. 

My sweet friend Dana, is the embodiment of this principle. She is a senior at my high school and more importantly, a friend of mine. At age 13, she started to lose her hearing, from a genetic disorder called Neurofibramatosis Type 2. Non-cancerous tumors grow on her auditory nerves, keeping her from hearing. One day, she will eventually lose her hearing completely. Yet even amidst all of this, she is the happiest person I know. When I am around her, I can’t help but be joyful. We laugh about random things. We communicate in the little sign language I know, and the little sign language she has taught me...and laugh about that too. 

Dana is an amazing photographer. Through suffering, she has found her purpose. She is the photographer for many sports teams at the high school, and for Young Life. Dana says her  “photography is a gift [she’s] been given as [her] way to communicate and connect with others”. She is able to feel and connect with people’s emotions through her camera lens. 

Getting to know her better this year has been such a privilege, as it’s dramatically changed my perspective on life. As I have lost a lot due to some health issues this year, being around this beautiful soul who finds her purpose in things she has lost too, has been an encouragement and an example. Because the truth is, we will all experience loss. Whether it be our hearing, our health, our energy, our friends, it will come. The more we focus on the loss, the more our lives will be shaped by negativity and grief. It is up to us to choose what we want in our frame. In Jesus, we have all the strength we need to kick loss out of the frame of our lives, and find our purpose through it, like Dana has. 

Because God is never cruel, there is a reason for all things. We must know the pain of loss; because if we never knew it, we would have no compassion for others. Even God lost His only son for a while and Jesus lost His father. And in that, Jesus found His purpose. Saving us. In the incredible pain of loss, comes incredible purpose!

Here are some of Dana's photographs! All credits go to her!