Not long ago I was at a single's Bible study when I thought I recognized someone. This person and I formed a friendship when we were both on our church's praise team. She moved more than a year ago, and I was surprised to see her. Through our conversation I discovered that she is going through a very painful divorce--even more so because she has four young children. As she shared her story with me, she told me that one of the most surprising things she's found is how differently she's been treated since becoming single. People that she thought were her friends have backed away from her. I could totally relate. I said to her, 'It's almost as if they think what you're going through is catching.'
The contemporary Christian group Casting Crowns has a song that I love entitled 'If We Are The Body'. The lyrics ask the question, 'If we are the Body, why aren't His hands reaching?' In other words, if we call ourselves Christians, why are there so many who feel neglected and rejected by the body?
Jesus said the world will know we are his disciples by our love. The first fruit of the Spirit is love. Why don't we show more of that love to those who are hurting? Is it because we don't know how to help, so rather than make the situation 'worse', we ignore it? Is it because our own lives are going good, so we don't want to 'jinx' ourselves? Is it that we really don't understand what love is?
When I was going through my valley of pain situation, one of the most cherished things someone said to me was, 'I wish I had the right words to say to you, but I don't. Just know that I love you and I'm praying for you'. That was like a lifeline of hope to me. I didn't want someone to help me (there was nothing anyone could do, anyway), but I did want to know someone cared about me; that they were concerned for me and my family. Hearing 'I'm praying for you' gave me hope. It gave me strength. It's like trying to carry a heavy load up a hill, and then someone comes along and carries it a little ways for you. The relief that comes with that is incredible.
One thing I have learned over the past few years is empathy. I've always been an empathetic person, but now I'm even more sensitive to the needs of others. Even if I don't know how to help them, I know that most people just want an ear to listen to them. They just want to be heard, and they just want to know that someone cares for them--even just a tiny bit.
The contemporary Christian group Casting Crowns has a song that I love entitled 'If We Are The Body'. The lyrics ask the question, 'If we are the Body, why aren't His hands reaching?' In other words, if we call ourselves Christians, why are there so many who feel neglected and rejected by the body?
Jesus said the world will know we are his disciples by our love. The first fruit of the Spirit is love. Why don't we show more of that love to those who are hurting? Is it because we don't know how to help, so rather than make the situation 'worse', we ignore it? Is it because our own lives are going good, so we don't want to 'jinx' ourselves? Is it that we really don't understand what love is?
When I was going through my valley of pain situation, one of the most cherished things someone said to me was, 'I wish I had the right words to say to you, but I don't. Just know that I love you and I'm praying for you'. That was like a lifeline of hope to me. I didn't want someone to help me (there was nothing anyone could do, anyway), but I did want to know someone cared about me; that they were concerned for me and my family. Hearing 'I'm praying for you' gave me hope. It gave me strength. It's like trying to carry a heavy load up a hill, and then someone comes along and carries it a little ways for you. The relief that comes with that is incredible.
One thing I have learned over the past few years is empathy. I've always been an empathetic person, but now I'm even more sensitive to the needs of others. Even if I don't know how to help them, I know that most people just want an ear to listen to them. They just want to be heard, and they just want to know that someone cares for them--even just a tiny bit.
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