Compassion Reminder
January 17, 2010 | Category: Students, The Closet
I have a confession to make. My 18 month old daughter is much more compassionate than me, and I am reminded of that often. My wife and I just had our second little girl, a beautiful brown haired girl named Isabella. Pregnancy has been a wonderful season of our life, especially for my wife, as she has been blessed to have a friend in the same phase of life for both of her pregnancies.
Most recently her friend had a brand new baby boy and due to the nature of her delivery, her 19 month old little girl was not at church in the nursery for a couple months surrounding the birth of her new brother. Because of her absence the first week back in the nursery was hard her, and when her mother went to leave, the little girl squalled hysterically and clung to her. After several minutes of coaxing she finally let her mom bring her into the nursery room, still crying. And my little girl got up from the table and came over to her friend and put her arm on her and pointing at the table said, “color?” She wanted her friend to know it would be ok, she could come color with her and they would have fun. She recognized her friend’s need and tried to meet it.
Since bringing the new baby home its an adjustment for Maggie, but not in the way most people would expect. Isabella hates having her diaper changed, and she lets you know it, screaming from the moment the dirty one comes off until the jammies are back on snapped and she’s resting in your arms. My compassionate daughter is always concerned as to why the “baby crying” she longs to be comfort to her and if need be will offer a hand or hug or whatever is needed.
As I write this I am reminded of the prophet Isaiah:
Isaiah 11:6 – “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.”
See I do not long to be comfort, I long to be comforted, and by doing that I miss countless opportunities to share Jesus with hurting people. Take Haiti for instance, when news of the earthquake came out and everyone was moved to action, I remained unfazed, unaffected.
I can blame the media for constantly bombarding me with bloody stories or television dramas that desensitize me to tragedy but the bottom line is I am missing the heart of God. The heart that hurts when we hurt and longs to comfort us. So today I am going to let the child lead me and ask God to break my heart for the things that break His.
Tags: awesome, compassion, illustration, important, reminder, unconventional
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