One of the most beautiful things I am drawn to in this life is an empathetic heart. When my own heart truly empathizes, it is such a raw, lingering thing. You can't just jump into someone's shoes and forget what they felt like. Everyone has a story, but their story keeps on going after I walk out of the room, after I drive back to my quiet house, after I fall asleep in my bed. Their story, their pain, their struggle does not cease to exist when I cease to think of it. How difficult. I say an empathetic heart is a beautiful thing, because I want to praise God for creating our hearts with the ability to do this. The ability to lay aside our self-absorption and feel feelings other than our own. God gave us the opportunity to walk a mile in someone else's shoes, to feel someone else's pain. He gave us the opportunity to share in someone else's humanity, and, for me, that just levels the playing field. We are no longer live in vertical comparisons but in horizontal journeys together. An empathetic heart is a beautiful thing because it inspires love and grace. It inspires compassion and mercy. I truly believe a driving force behind so many of Jesus' interactions on earth was His ability to empathize and His choice to constantly do so. Too often, though, I fill my day with priorities other than empathy and love. Too often, I forget the raw, lingering feelings that tie me to someone else's heart and journey and go into survival mode. I forget that this life is about so much more than me.
No comments:
Post a Comment