Compassion

It has been an extremely rough week. I needed prayer. I hesitated doing this because of past experiences, but I did it anyway: I posted my prayer request on Facebook.

I wanted some friends who were strong in their prayers - some who had it all together, some who weren’t already weighted down with their own struggles - to just pray for me.

I hit the Send button and there it was for all my Facebook friends to see. I crawled into bed and went to sleep. After a four hour nap, I woke up and was stunned by a few of the replies to my earlier post.

It wasn’t WHAT they replied, it was WHO replied that said they were praying:

• the friend who has battled migraine headaches for years plus battled for her husband’s severe illness for many years before he finally got healed
• the one who has battled through her own illnesses, pastored a church with her husband  in the heart of the city, pouring out her life for others, and walking with family after family in hardship and death
• a former mentor to me who is facing big decisions for the future
• the pastor who already has her hands full with lots of things
• the co-founder of a ministry to the orphans and widows in another country
• the friend in severe chronic pain, struggling to manage living life in the midst of an incurable situation
• another pastor who is constantly giving of his life to others
• one with chronic back pain that has completely altered his life
• one who saw firsthand the effects this had upon my health, my life, my work, and my outlook on life; he listened and was/is my friend
• the one with numerous challenges and health issues in her own family

I looked down through the messages and was overwhelmed. Many were already hurting. Many were already going through huge challenges and obstacles in their lives. They already felt a heaviness and burden for themselves or those around them. 

These weren’t the ones I was meaning to pray for me. They already had enough on their plates. 

I received another Facebook post. One who has been through so much pain was saying she was still praying for me and was checking in.

It floored me. 

In the midst of their own pain. In the midst of their own heartache. In the midst of their own overwhelming challenges in life. People were reaching out to me.

Then I realized what it was. 

Compassion.

If you’ve never been through a life-altering situation, you won’t understand. If you’ve never lived with back pain for 25 years, you won’t understand. If you’ve never been to doctor after doctor with no resolution, you won’t understand. If you’ve never wondered if you’ll live through the night, you won’t understand.

But if you’ve been broken. Scared. In pain. At the end of your rope. No where to go. Then you understand.

A thread is weaved through people’s spirits who have suffered together. An understanding. A compassion. A burden. A strength in numbers.

With each of the friends I described above, I’ve connected with. I have a glimpse of their pain. I have a bit of understanding of what they go through: the challenges of an illness, the weight of ministry, of a hurting loved one, or the constant giving of oneself to others. A thread connects us. They have no idea how many times I have hurt for them, prayed for them, tried to share their burden, cried for them, wanted to be able to help them. Or simply just had compassion. 

Today I was touched with their compassion. 

Thank you.