The body suffers, the flesh cries out, and sleep is taken away, as if an enemy had seized it. Yet listen: not to be spoiled, but to spoil, is an evil. If your son endures this nobly, the injury is not to him, but to the condition itself that afflicts him, and he receives the greatest benefit. For though the intent is not his choosing, yet to bear it with thanksgiving and patience crowns his soul. The grasping pain, the sleepless hours, these seem to take from him, but in truth they are the means of glorious gain, if he does not let his tongue sharpen against his own peace, if he does not murmur or grow faint in spirit. Let him accuse himself of former negligence, not the body that serves its Master, and so he turns the thorn into a crown.
You ask for healing, and this is right, for the Lord loves the prayers of a mother. But do not wonder if the healing tarries, for often God sees the injured one exalted more by the trial. Perhaps the sleepless nights are the very alms he gives, the sacrifice of praise offered in pain: a slight gain indeed compared to bodily ease, but in heaven it is a treasure. And see, you are doing the greatest good for him now: your prayer, your care, these are the memorials made in faith. Nothing is done in vain when offered with such love.
But rouse yourself and him from the drunkenness of worldly thoughts. The softness we crave for the flesh often does injury to the soul’s healthfulness. It may be that this pain is the physician’s knife, cutting away a deeper illness. Pray for him, yes, but let him also pray for himself, not against the pain as an enemy, but against any impatience that would injure his own soul. For no one will really be able to injure him unless he injures himself. And if it seems he cannot defend himself against this affliction, being weaker, yet he can certainly put into action the noble weapon of thanksgiving. Let him not utter curses against the night watches or speak ill of the day of trouble, but bless the Name that allows it, and he shall gain ten thousand rewards.
Remember, the injured who glorifies God becomes like unto his Father in Heaven. Is not this better than a night of unbroken sleep? The suffering of the body is brief; the soul made radiant through it shines forever.