Today, I had the pleasure of caring for a number of people whose sorrows I will never fully understand. The circumstances with which they found themselves were, to them, insurmountable.
This crushing weight has lead to a number of visible effects in their lives, each one diverse in ways innumerable. The DNA, as it were, of each encounter, was fully unique, impossible to replicate. The DNA of each individuals life choices, accidents, misfortunes, and blessings, all culminated in the moment that they encountered me.
And the next moment of their life was a culmination of all of those events and my interactions with them.
On can simply hope that I have nudged their many possible futures into a more positive direction.
But this is beside the point, which is to say, I would not trade my sorrows for another’s. In the brief time I was near to these people, I learned so much, and yet so little. Could I, as I am now, overcome their struggle? If I wished for a different life, what hole might I be digging?
Perhaps one that I myself could not escape.
This is the source of compassion, I think. To know that I am one misstep away from greater and greater sorrow connects me to my fellow man, the people whom I am tasked to love without measure.
Better it is, to accept the sorrows I know, than wish for the life of another, knowing that his sorrow may crush me under its weight.
All glory be to God, who alleviates my suffering and my struggles, and allows my suffering and struggles.
Modern Survival Arkansas 