“A week after I gave her a large stack of poems to read, Janie invited me to ‘Shenandoah,’ a community play in which her children were performing. I sat by her when she wasn't helping with the production and it gave us a chance to talk, something I looked forward to because I didn't really know much about Janie.
“As we waited for the play to begin, I leaned over and asked, ‘How many children do you have?’”
“She responded, ‘Well, it depends on how you count. It's either six or eight.’ She explained that her second child, a girl, lived only a week before she died. Her third child, also a girl, had heart problems and died when she was only six years old. I felt so sad for her and realized that Janie was no stranger to heartache.” (The Silent Cries, page 19)
I have observed that some of the most compassionate people in my life are those who have experienced great pain, loss and sadness. There is something about extreme pain which is universal. Whether the pain comes from the death of a loved one, serious depression, sexual abuse, life threatening illness, or other form of major trauma, there is a commonality. When a person finds themselves in a position where they have no control over the outcome of their situation, the soul can get carved out and become deeper. An understanding of the complexity of heartache and profound empathy for others’ can become the by-product. I am so thankful to those whose compassion became magnified through their pain and who understood the complicated world I was dealing with.
“As we waited for the play to begin, I leaned over and asked, ‘How many children do you have?’”
“She responded, ‘Well, it depends on how you count. It's either six or eight.’ She explained that her second child, a girl, lived only a week before she died. Her third child, also a girl, had heart problems and died when she was only six years old. I felt so sad for her and realized that Janie was no stranger to heartache.” (The Silent Cries, page 19)
I have observed that some of the most compassionate people in my life are those who have experienced great pain, loss and sadness. There is something about extreme pain which is universal. Whether the pain comes from the death of a loved one, serious depression, sexual abuse, life threatening illness, or other form of major trauma, there is a commonality. When a person finds themselves in a position where they have no control over the outcome of their situation, the soul can get carved out and become deeper. An understanding of the complexity of heartache and profound empathy for others’ can become the by-product. I am so thankful to those whose compassion became magnified through their pain and who understood the complicated world I was dealing with.
RSS Feed