Moment for Meditation, September 29, 2014: Hurt There was an adage that told us ‘experience is the best teacher’. In this day and age, that adage seems to have morphed into ‘experience is the ONLY teacher’. Perhaps it has something to do with our being bombarded by slogans and campaigns that tell us ‘Only the best will do’. Unfortunately, this thinking has closed us off to many experiences that would save us from a life full of the unnecessary as well as the bonds that would be forged in the process. For example, often when we hear someone say that they know what another is going through, our first response (those who believe that experience is the ONLY teacher) will quickly interject, “Has that happened to you? How can you know anything about it if it hasn’t happened to you?” Said person is often joined by others of his ilk and before you know it, the person who is going through is left alone, wondering perhaps, what bond that moment of comfort would have brought to his situation. The others, have trotted off to the nearest cheese tray or worse, remain standing around looking foolish because they have not experienced the ‘ONLY’ and dare not try to comfort, commiserate, or sympathize. The sad truth is that without empathy, it is difficult to do any of these things. Perhaps it is because we are afraid of opening ourselves up to the feelings of others for fear of exposing our own. Perhaps we believe that what we won’t feel can’t hurt us. Therein lies the rub. Hurt. No matter what the situation, hurt is at the root of it. Hurt, emotional, physical, economical, or environmental, is universal. Yes, there are many levels to it but the process of going through and eventually getting through is the same. Ask yourself about the time you dismissed the paper cut without so much as a wince. You will tell yourself, if you are honest, you didn’t. There are many catalysts that will bring hurt into our lives. The thing to remember is that the catalyst is not to be our focus is ushering someone or even ourselves through the hurt. Yes, I lost a loved one, but I hurt. I know I’m getting a divorce, I hurt. So what if it’s only a paper cut, it still hurts. If we can get past the outside stimuli, we can begin the process of helping. It does not matter if you have experienced the thing in question, it does matter that you are willing to speak to the person who is in your presence or on your mind who is in the midst of hurt. When we call on Jesus to comfort us, do we make any attempt to qualify His ability to help us? When we are suffering the loss of our parents, do we ask Him how He can empathize with us because His Father is still alive? We, expect Him to be everything to us. How is it then, that we cannot bring ourselves to see His everything in His people? Why don’t we see His everything in us? Somewhere in your life, someone is hurting and you have everything needed to help in the hurt. Don’t withhold comfort because the world tells you can’t offer what you have not experienced. Don’t forgo the opportunity to form bonds of Christian family and friendship because you are afraid to feel.
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 19:02:30 +0000