My own pain in life has taught me that the first step to healing is not a step away from the pain but a step toward it. When brokenness is, in fact, just as intimate a part of our being as our chosenness and our blessedness, we have to dare to overcome our fear and become familiar with it.

…The great secret of the spiritual life, the life of the beloved sons and daughters of God, is that everything we live, be it gladness or sadness, joy or pain, health or illness, can be part of the journey toward the full realization of our humanity.

from The Essential Henri Nouwen