JONI: Welcome to Joni and Friends where I have a very special guest in the studio.
And she is not a new guest. You heard her perhaps a month or so ago: my friend Brittany Volpei. She is 28 years old; sweet spirited and deals with complex regional pain syndrome. That is a terrible disorder; a time of dealing daily with pain from the moment you open your eyes ‘til you go to bed at night.
Brittany, we’re so glad that you came back. Thanks for being here.
BRITTANY: Thank you for having me.
JONI: Well, Brittany, you are back with us and I see that you also have your little wheelchair on which you have propped your feet as you sit back in the chair here at the microphone. That means that you are in pain today again. What is your level today?
BRITTANY: Seven and a half — eightish.
JONI: Okay. With that smile you are doing pretty good. What advice would you give to friends listening who are dealing with pain?
BRITTANY: You are not alone. The Lord is near. As hard as it is to understand this life that he has given you, the breath in your lungs, it’s for His glory and His honor. I would just encourage you to cling to the Word, to keep pursuing and surround yourself with truth. The lies the enemy so wants to get in and wreck this beautiful, fruitful thing that the Lord has for you. I think that I have learned so much from this; I kind of joke about writing a book called “My Life in the Waiting Room” or “Lessons from the Furnace” or something. It’s been really, really hard as you know. I am in a place right now where I kind of feel like a window manikin and life is just going past, and it’s hard to be in that place, it’s really hard. I am not a person who has mobility with my pain; I’m most comfortable lying down so I miss a lot of things. My 20’s were not what I’d hoped they would be, but I see so much fruit in this and I know that I’m living for the Kingdom, and I said before I’ve really learned that this life is not about me, so if this is it, if this is my life with pain, how will I glorify the Lord in it?
JONI: You know, Brittany, you mentioned that you love to read great writers, great Christian thinkers, and you mentioned John Piper. Is there any special quotation from him that has particularly inspired you?
BRITTANY: You know, one of the things that I loved about John Piper is his ability to just speak the word. He has memorized long passages of Scripture and I love the way that he says ‘Why are you so downcast my soul?’ The phrase from Psalms comes back to me time and time again and I just think ‘Right, why are you downcast if we have this hope and it’s something tangible?’
JONI: Yep! You know, I do the same thing. ‘Why are you so downcast oh my soul — come on, get it together. Believe in your God. He has done so much for you. Stand at attention. Come out right. Follow the Holy Spirit. Believe his word.’ They are tough things to have to do but when you are dealing with pain you got to do them — great advice for our friends listening. Well, Brittany, thank you so much for being with us. You know, I remember when we met. You had said that you wanted God to show you His purpose for all your pain. Well, today you have exercised that purpose by encouraging me and of course our friends listening.
Friend listening, if you deal with chronic pain, I want to give you what I gave to Brittany. It’s a wonderful pamphlet called “Pain and Providence” and in it I give some helpful tips on dealing with pain, chronic pain. Just contact my radio page today at joniandfriends.org where you will also see a photo that I have posted of this excellent young woman — my friend Brittany. So visit us today on the radio page at joniandfriends.org.
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