Compassion: Easier to receive than to give.

Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines compassion as a sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. Now that's my starting point for this entry...well that and a couple of experiences from the last few days. While I was in the hospital, I spent a large amount of time looking up encouraging verses and inspirational quotes. I ran across this quote: " Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle, too." That quote really struck me. Right before finding those wise words, I was out on a walker stroll around the hospital. I had noticed a woman looking at me in a strange manner. Now I realize I was walking in an odd way, extremely slowly and with an  abnormal gait, but to get 'mean mugged' by a complete stranger? I didn't understand. I was hurting, yet trying my best to get out there and walk. To be perceived as a 'weirdo' by a person I didn't know just didn't feel that great. I then proceeded to head back to my room, at a snail pace of course! I sat down in my bed and found this quote. It suddenly dawned on me...what if that lady, the same one I had just been offended by, was fighting a tough battle with her child's health, or even her own. I immediately felt guilty for getting so 'bent out of shape' for such a minor incident. That woman, for all I knew, was dealing with a dying child, a life-altering diagnosis, or tough answers from the doctors. It turns out I was right to some degree. In the next few moments I saw her wheeling her toddler aged daughter by my open hospital room door. Woah...a strange feeling came upon me. This time it wasn't God's peace, more like His perspective. I went from being offended by a meer look to feeling compelled to love. This woman was going through a similar situation as me, and let me tell you, I understood why she was looking so grim just moments before. I realized that compassion can not only be expressed to those jolly looking people that do no wrong to me, but also to those struggling ones who may be in need of someones compassion in their dark time.  Now I'm going to skip ahead to Sunday morning when another experience revealed compassion, this time in a different way. I headed to church that morning with my wheelchair, a mossy-oak camo chair at that. I was received this time, with smiles and hugs, very unlike the previously described encounter. People came up to me over and over again saying that they were praying and keeping me in their thought. This is just a glimpse of the compassion I received that day. Church proceeded until it was time to go up for prayer. Without a second thought, my parents and I headed to the front, myself wheeling up there. My brothers and sisters in Christ surrounded me. There was an immense feeling of love and power in that small group. As people prayed out loud, I was praying to myself. Thanking the Lord for this incredible out-pouring of care, love, and above all else, compassion. The dictionary had this one right: people aware of another's distress, and the inclination to help relieve it. At that moment there was tears flowing, hands raised, and praises being sent above. After many hugs, I wheeled myself back up the aisle way...ok ok, my dad helped because it was an incline. God's peace was once again poured upon me. As I left the front of the church, it was all smiles. God had done a great work. He had blessed me that morning with compassionate people. People willing to step out in faith and pray for me, people willing to care enough to come together in front of the Lord and seek healing. Wow, wow, wow. Talk about feeling like a million bucks! Physically I was deeply hurting, but my heart was singing His praises and just glorifying His awesome name. I left church that morning feeling overwhelmed with support....and once again, God's peace; this time even more prevalent. As I'm reflecting on this two contrasting experiences, I praise God for both. From the first episode, I learned that no matter how bad I'm feeling, there is someone who has it worse and needs my compassion...whether they choose to receive or not. God called us to love one another, and compassion is a huge part of that. As tough as it is to think about, going through a challenging ordeal has been just what God, not the doctor, ordered for me to see others in a different light. On the other side of that, that same ordeal has been used for me to see just how loving people are, just how far their trust reaches, and how mighty their compassion is, not only in times of need, but always. To God be ALL the glory for putting us in situations where we can clearly gain perspective on numerous episodes. "We don't deserve praise! The Lord alone deserves all of the praise, because of His love and faithfulness." Psalm 115:1