We have been in pain... 

     Leprosy is a germ about 1/4000 of an inch long which enters a person's body and causes nerve damage near the surface of the skin. This impairment causes a loss of feeling that permits a leprous person to injure or burn themselves without even realizing it. Thus their inability to feel pain is detrimental unto them.
     Although nobody enjoys pain, it can be a blessing in disguise. Just as painful afflictions in our bodies compel us to seek medical assistance, the painful experiences of life serve to draw us closer to "the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation...” (2 Cor. 1:3,4). Thus we, like the psalmist, may say, "it is good for me that I have been afflicted..." (Ps. 119:71).