“Bear
one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” – Galatians 6:2
I was doing an assessment for a Harvey home yesterday. Well, three actually. But it was the third one that was the most memorable. It took me back a few years to Waveland, MS. The homeowner told me that her son drowned during the storm. In fact, she looked at me and asked, “Did you know that my son died in the storm?” I did because the case worker had told me. When I saw the tears well up in her eyes I was reminded that the heart remembers what the mind forgets. I have shared this before, but it bears repeating.
If you break your leg, give birth to a child, recover from an operation, the pain you experience is difficult to bear, but after the pain subsides, the body forgets the feeling – the intensity of the pain. You can certainly remember that it hurt, but you can’t feel that pain again. Not so with the heart. Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25th 2017. That is almost 2 years ago. The heart ache that she felt then is just as real yesterday and today and tomorrow as it was then. Many of you reading this, know this to be true because of what has happened in your own life.
I think that God created us to feel heart-hurts because He wanted us to know the heart-hurt that He feels for us. The pain He feels for His creation. I don’t think that is too far a stretch or I am being too liberal in my thinking and writing. There are times when words are not enough. There was nothing that I could say to the home owner that would be a balm to the pain in her heart. I did tell her that I was sorry for her loss and I knew that it was a heavy burden to bear. She thanked me and agreed about the heaviness.
My intent here is not to speak to the grief cycle. Instead, I want to encourage you to be sensitive to the heart pain that others feel. To be a friend and a listening ear. This was not the first person that I have spoken to about the loss of a loved one caused by a natural disaster. It does not get any easier – and it shouldn’t. As the Body of Christ, we are called to bear one another’s burdens. If you do, it will cost you something. You must be willing to enter into the pain that they feel. That is called empathy and compassion.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble [in our affliction], with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
This is a spiritual act, not just being a nice person. When the Bible says to do something, it always requires the involvement of the Spirit of God to do it. Every disaster survivor, not just natural disasters, has a story. They all deserve the opportunity to tell it and need to be heard. The question is, “Are you willing to listen?”
Let your light shine.
I was doing an assessment for a Harvey home yesterday. Well, three actually. But it was the third one that was the most memorable. It took me back a few years to Waveland, MS. The homeowner told me that her son drowned during the storm. In fact, she looked at me and asked, “Did you know that my son died in the storm?” I did because the case worker had told me. When I saw the tears well up in her eyes I was reminded that the heart remembers what the mind forgets. I have shared this before, but it bears repeating.
If you break your leg, give birth to a child, recover from an operation, the pain you experience is difficult to bear, but after the pain subsides, the body forgets the feeling – the intensity of the pain. You can certainly remember that it hurt, but you can’t feel that pain again. Not so with the heart. Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25th 2017. That is almost 2 years ago. The heart ache that she felt then is just as real yesterday and today and tomorrow as it was then. Many of you reading this, know this to be true because of what has happened in your own life.
I think that God created us to feel heart-hurts because He wanted us to know the heart-hurt that He feels for us. The pain He feels for His creation. I don’t think that is too far a stretch or I am being too liberal in my thinking and writing. There are times when words are not enough. There was nothing that I could say to the home owner that would be a balm to the pain in her heart. I did tell her that I was sorry for her loss and I knew that it was a heavy burden to bear. She thanked me and agreed about the heaviness.
My intent here is not to speak to the grief cycle. Instead, I want to encourage you to be sensitive to the heart pain that others feel. To be a friend and a listening ear. This was not the first person that I have spoken to about the loss of a loved one caused by a natural disaster. It does not get any easier – and it shouldn’t. As the Body of Christ, we are called to bear one another’s burdens. If you do, it will cost you something. You must be willing to enter into the pain that they feel. That is called empathy and compassion.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble [in our affliction], with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
This is a spiritual act, not just being a nice person. When the Bible says to do something, it always requires the involvement of the Spirit of God to do it. Every disaster survivor, not just natural disasters, has a story. They all deserve the opportunity to tell it and need to be heard. The question is, “Are you willing to listen?”
Let your light shine.
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