The saying is sure and true and worthy of full and universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus (the Messiah) came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am foremost.
1 Timothy 1:15 Amp
(my emphasis)
And I went about the rest of my early morning routine... and it was there... on my treadmill... that God revealed... His compassion... toward me...
A note of compassion... passed through my treadmill read...
Years earlier, when I was still a teenager, I came home to discover that my mother had been in a horrible car accident. I couldn't even drive yet and called a taxi to get to the hospital. I don't remember the first thing about the ride there. ... What I do remember is sitting and crying alone outside the waiting room, as my mother was still in intensive care.
Three women across the family waiting room whispered behind their hands to one another as they furtively continued to glace my way. My mother was in a very bad way, near death, and obviously the news had traveled the floor. Suddenly a different woman approached me. "Is that your mother in there?" she asked. I guess no other details were necessary as I nodded and wiped my sodden face. She walked away and in a short amount of time reappeared, opened a new box of tissues, and passed them to me. Then she patted me on the shoulder, leaned over, and whispered, "Don't worry now. Your mother is going to be all right."
An angel? No, I don't think so. I think it was just a stranger who had decided the bubble of her world could be broken. That she could cross that crazy, invisible line that seems to hold us back, separate us from one another. In looking back on that moment, there is no question in my mind that the other three women, glancing and whispering behind their hands, were equally sorry for me but they chose to stay in the safety of their private worlds.
These memories remind me that sometimes a simple word, a gentle touch, is worth the trouble. That moving out of the skin of my comfort zone is worth the momentary risk.
---River Jordan, Praying for StrangersHe tells me... I'm not the worst... and I'm not alone...
All broken people struggle...
And I remember... just yesterday... in the study with sisters... we talked about the importance of sharing our failures... fears... faults... with others...
Testimony... speaking truth in love... it eliminates loneliness... it is a form of compassion...
I hear a word... of encouragement... to step out... and a reminder that I am not alone...
The writer she goes on to say...
I am thinking that our lives will be traced back to the moments where we were selfless. Where we took time to offer a kind word or a listening ear. I'm just thinking that someday it's all going to matter very much.
I don't want to be the one held back by fear... self-consciousness... I want to do what really matters... to Him... for Him...
Lord... thank You for this word of encouragement... this glimpse of Your compassion... help me to remember Your greatest gift of mercy... Your work on the cross... remind me... that You ask me... to do no less than You did for me...
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ,
if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit,
if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete
by being like-minded, having the same love,
being one in spirit and purpose.
Philippians 2:1-2
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