Creak

When I was still having a lot of back pain, I signed up for a day at one of my favourite places, St Bede's Pastoral Centre in York. Somebody was coming to run a 'training' day (for want of a better word) about living with chronic pain.

By the time came - which was yesterday - I'd been mostly pain-free for nearly a month, but by then I was committed, and besides, a friend was going too, and she'd never been to St Bede's before. I felt a bit apologetic, really, because everybody else was in a far worse state than I was.

Not that you'd know it. A few people walked with sticks and one very pretty and delightful woman was in a wheelchair, but mostly you wouldn't know what battles they were all fighting. It was only as the day went on, and as we sat having lunch together, that we got insights into each other's lives. And there they all were, these men and women coping with mental or physical pain, just keeping going. Going to work, working from home, picking up grandchildren from school, doing work in their churches and communities.

Respect. Admire. Think. And please don't judge. Everyone has their own battles to fight.