Rise above the shadows

Rutendo Gwatidzo

Life is a tapestry woven with threads of joy and sorrow, triumph and struggle, laughter and tears, happiness and sadness.

It is easy to lose sight of meaning and purpose during dark moments when pain threatens to engulf us.

But, within each and every one of us lies a spark, a reason for being that transcends even the most profound suffering.

Your purpose is greater than your pain.Did you ever stop to wonder why you experience pain?

Have you ever assessed your pain to find out the purpose of it? The bible in the book of Romans 8:28 tells us that everything works together for good.

It then means that even the pain that we go through in life does work for good as bad as it may be.

All we probably need to do is to discover the purpose in our pain. Sadly, not all of us do find it.

When going through pain, it is important to find answers to at least two questions: what to do in your pain and what to do with your pain?

The first question focuses on you, while the second one focuses on others.

Generally, pain is inevitable in life but, suffering is optional. You can choose to spend the rest of your life being a victim of pain or you can use the pain for good.

Many people miss out on their purpose as they tend to focus on running away from pain instead of dealing with it. Sometimes, it is in the process of dealing with pain that we come across new discoveries and purpose.

True story.I wrote my first book titled Born to Fight as a result of pain. I had gone through so much pain in life to the point of wanting to give up on a lot of things.

As I was dealing with the pain, I decided to express myself to God because having grown up a Christian, I was taught to pray when I feel like it and when I don’t feel like it.

The book was then birthed out of prayer.

Little did I know that it was going to make an impact in the education domain. In 2021, the book was approved by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as a humanities set book for secondary schools. The book is now available in various schools and universities.

Your purpose is indeed greater than your pain.

Organisational status

We are in a season where a lot of things lose meaning so quickly in many organisations, for instance, salaries.

The pain of going to work to spend a whole month for peanuts can become unbearable if we lose focus on our purpose. Others now just go to work to steal and do different sorts of evil things.

Sometimes, instead of focusing on earning a good salary, you probably need to focus on working to make a difference, an impact that will bring about a positive change.

Good impact eventually pays well either directly or indirectly.

For instance, when my book got into schools, I began being invited to speak at schools and different platforms, which then became another income stream for me.

I urge employees and management alike to focus on the bigger picture.

Suffering may come but, it will not last forever if we put our minds towards making a positive difference.

If others can do it in this difficult economy, then surely it is possible for many others to do it as well.

Do not lose focus. Keep your hands on the plough and your ayes looking ahead.General factsThe probability that bad situations produce good results is high in many occasions.

Look at the famous American lady preacher Joyce Meyer. For so many years, she was sexually abused by her biological father.

Instead of dying a victim, she chose to turn around the situation for the good and she is now helping millions of women.

There are also many women who decided to break pain barriers and rise above the shadows in order to make a difference in Zimbabwe and Africa at large.

The same applies to men.

I would like to challenge, encourage and inspire someone to look at pain differently. While you focus on how to make the situation better for you, also look at how pain prompts you to make a difference in the lives of others.

Instead of remaining paralysed in bitterness, consider using your situation to help someone else. Until you get the message in your pain, the pain will probably continue to persist.

Be transformed by the pain you carry.

You need to have a positive and winning approach towards pain to be able to turn scars into stars, and bitterness into betterness.

When you are on the right path, ultimately, your purpose becomes greater than your pain.

Rutendo Gwatidzo is managing consultant at The HUB HR Consultancy. She is a multi-award-winning consultant, speaker and mentor. She is also author of the books: Born to Fight and Breaking the Silence. Contacts: +263 714 575 805/ [email protected]/ Facebook: Rutendo Gwatidzo_Official