Pain matters

I read a quote recently about how painful things should hurt because they matter. I never really thought about that before. 

I don't like being in pain. But it's part of my journey with this disease, and whether I want it to or not, my disease matters. Mast cell disease has become so intertwined with my life, such a part of every day, that at a certain point it became part of me. So if my life matters, then my disease matters too.

It matters because I will never again be the person I was before I was diagnosed. It matters because it made me smarter, more driven and more grateful. It matters because it changed me, and whether or not I like mast cell disease, I like the person I am now, and my disease is part of that. My pain matters because my disease matters.