Opportunities To Show Compassion

​I'm pretty bad when it comes to going to a doctor. It's not because I'm scared to hear bad news, but more because I'm scared I'm being a big baby and nothing is really wrong with me. Recently I dislocated my rib. At first I thought it was muscular. As the day wore on, the pain went from my back all the way around to my chest and arm. I have to admit, with my family's history of heart problems, I wondered if I might be having a heart attack. I was relieved to find out it was only a dislocated rib, but that didn't make the pain any easier. It was such a comfort to me to have women who went through the same ordeal have compassion on me. To tell me they felt the same way when they went through it. They remembered and they understood. Their kind words brought a sense of relief, that maybe I wasn't being as big a baby as I thought. There have been seasons in my life where my health was in question and as I tried not to worry, as I prayed and sometimes cried, compassion wasn't easily found. There have also been seasons of heartache~ deep hurt by a loved one, the death of my best friend and then my mom. Days where I didn't want to get out of bed, days I wished it was all just a bad dream. Sometimes I think when we are in situations like this, people don't know how to respond because they have never been through it themselves or perhaps they have been through it but never received any compassion from others. I have heard remarks like "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" or "I've been through all that before" and sadly even~"we all lose loved ones, it's a fact of life". Something God has shown me in each season of sickness and heart ache was how very important compassion for others is. The Bible teaches us~of some having compassion, making a difference. When we are going through a sickness or health scare, perhaps waiting for results of a biopsy ~or even a silly dislocated rib, let's ask our Savior to give us opportunities to show someone compassion that might be going through the same ordeal. Perhaps it might not be physical pain that we are going through, but emotional. A broken marriage or the death of a loved one. A season of heartache that almost seems unbearable. Remember the pain that you felt, the tears that you shed, the resolve you thought you lost and then remember the kind words of an encourager, the eyes of understanding and the heart of compassion someone had for you. Don't allow yourself to forget, because one day God will send someone your way who needs the same from you. Look for opportunities to show compassion to others, even in the midst of heartache. That person sitting next to you in the waiting room, that heartbroken wife who feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulders now. The mother who can't find the words to say to her children. God can use you to give hope to others who think they have lost all hope and compassion when it feels like it is nowhere to be found.