I am sure that all of us, sometime in our lives, often come across the words, “It is worth it” or “It was worth it”.

“It is worth it” or “It was worth it” is almost always attached to joy and or material things. You hear one saying, “The party was worth attending” or “The house was worth buying” etc. But this time, we’re going to hear the words used in a different context. The word, “worth” is attached to something totally different.

Would you believe me if I said pain is necessary and worth it? You might ask why and how.

Pain is necessary for growth in our lives. There is always the pain of losing something and the pain of going through something. When we lose something we adore or treasure, God has a plan of giving us something more treasurable than what we lost. God has plans for our lives. And in the midst of everything that we go through, that tears apart our hearts, He says His plans are not to harm us but prosper us and give us hope. Through tough times we learn and become strengthened.

From the mouth of someone who had it tough growing up, you must believe me when I say pain is necessary and worth it. I am a living testimony.

It was survival of the fittest, growing up. It was a battle to keep life going and it always looked like I was fighting a losing battle. Things would get messy. Even a pre-school kid would tell that it just can’t be fixed. Poverty was my family’s everyday portion. And I bet even the stinking poor were saying that we are poor.

I started stinking of poverty at a tender age. Well, even though we were poor, we were a happy family. We would spend days with empty stomachs yet with smiles on our faces. When poverty strikes and you are with both parents, it is both painful and comforting. Though we went to bed hungry, waking up to see mom and dad gave us hope that things would fall into place. Even though we did not know when and how, comfort was brought by the fact that we knew and had parents as providers.

There came a time when we were left alone as kids at home having to look after ourselves. That was the hardest time of our lives. The misery started right there. Life was like doom with everything on pause. We would spend months without food in the house. And when there is no food, there is absolutely nothing. Not even clean water. Life can really knock one down. We were living in a very dark world of our own. Always dirty and hungry with no proper clothing. We even had no friends then. Who would want to have a dirty and hungry friend?

Hunger can sometimes make one do nasty things, especially as a child feeling unwanted. If I had friends, I could have made a visiting timetable for a decent meal. But because poverty took over my entire life, certain things I did not have though I desired.

I remember we would play hide and seek with other kids, the day they allowed me to play with them. In the rural areas, when we are done eating and the pap is finished, we pour water (clean or dirty) in the pot to soak it so it can be easier to wash. I remember hiding behind that one litre pot, so that I could get the crust from the pot.

It didn’t bother me that they put clean or dirty water, as long as I could eat and feel less hungry. Sometimes they would put the water they used to wash dishes, with bones from their relish. And that did not stop me from eating the crust.

I remember in a season when marula fruit was ripe, we would go collect them. We would collect as many as possible because that was the only food we would have in the house. We would eat the marula and keep their seeds, dikgeru, safe to dry up. We would have marula fruit for breakfast, lunch and supper. It’s nothing ridiculous, yet I laugh about it.

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Tell us: Do you agree with the author, that no one wants to be friends with the poor?