Everyone Needs Compassion

Com×pas×sion:
noun
1. a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
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Saturday morning I woke up to head to coffee with a dear friend, Staci. After chatting for three hours about our families, ambitions, callings, etc, I headed home to help Bobby build some shelving in our garage (a project quite overdo!).

Shortly after lunch I was in trying to get the kids down for a nap when Bobby yelled in to me. Frustrated that I had to get up when Owen was finally falling asleep (couldn't sleep with the saws and hammering in the garage), I let out a big sigh and went to see what was needed.

Then I got an earful....

"A lady was just walking by with her puppy. After saying "hello" to her, conversation started and I could tell something was wrong. We got to talking and it ends up she is currently staying at the women's shelter. She and her son just rolled into town a few days ago looking for work. She has a camper but its electricity, lights, etc aren't working so she is staying at the shelter. Her boy recently bought an 8 week old puppy and the dog is living in the camper as the shelter doesn't allow dogs. I told her I'd talk to you but maybe we'd care for their dog."

I wish you could have seen my reaction. It was not THAT bad, but I was annoyed already with our screaming child who was refusing a nap and then Bobby rambles this story off!?!??! I fired back with a million questions:"What are we going to do with a puppy?"
"What if the kids fall in love with the dog and then we have to give it back?"
"We don't know anything about them" 
"Why did she come out here looking for work?--what's their background?"
And the list went on....

Bobby simply looked at me and replied, "Courtney we have been talking for months now about living a more compassionate life. We have committed to helping others in need whether they are orphans, widows, or strangers. There is a reason why she walked by while we were working outside and why she opened up to me. We can do a simple job of watching a dog for a few days (or weeks) if that means helping someone in distress. This lady needs help."

"And because you made every effort to express the Father's love, even the smallest deeds you did for the least of these will count greatly for all eternity."

 SLAP. I think that was the first time Bobby "slapped" me in the face.

Just that morning at coffee Staci and I were talking about compassion. About how that is our ultimate goal: to teach our children about Jesus and to teach them to live lives FULL of compassion.

A few minutes later "P"--as I'll call her--came back with Ann (the 8 week old springer spaniel that her son named after the coon dog in "Where the Red Fern Grows"). She was obviously distraught and overly thankful that we were going to take care of the dog. She asked if I'd walk her back to her camper to get the dog food.

On our walk I learned so much about “P” and her background. She has lived a hard, hard life....living out of her car for the past ___ years while she worked at Wal-Mart overnight. Her son has some issues and she has no clue what the future holds for either of them. Eli walked with us taking it all in...

We took Ann, ran and got her a kennel and a few treats from Wal-Mart, and settled in for the evening.

Sunday morning "P" arrived outside our house at 9:10 sharp ready to head to church with us. After church we took her to lunch and tried helping her sort out what her future may hold. She stopped by the garage to say "good night." The kids all ran to greet her and when she left Owen reached his hands out and said, "Hug????" 

When she left Eli said, “Mom, when we build our new house maybe we can give ‘P’ our house so she isn’t homeless anymore.”

"The more we become the hands, the feet, and the love of Jesus, the more joy we will find."

We don't know how we can support her, or what she will be doing today, tomorrow, or weeks from now. BUT, we do know this opportunity for showing her compassion (even in the littlest ways) means the world to her.

 "It's obvious that one of the reasons God calls His people to reach out to the defenseless is because they are the most needy. Without our help, they will die early deaths, they will be swept into lives of poverty, they will make bad decisions and end up in jail. We can show them they have a chance to make it in life."

Gus (our 6 year old choc lab) isn't too fond of Ann....chasing after him, nipping at his tail, and biting his ears. BUT, he is warming up--a bit!

AND, the kids are in love (except for the puppiness in her that means chewing on toys, biting on toes, and jumping up over and over again).

How appropriate it was that we did our final study of "Fields of the Fatherless" with our James 1:27 ministry yesterday. All the quotes in this post came from Tom Davis in the chapters we studied this week.

One final thought...

"Many times we sit on our hands and wait for someone who needs help to come knocking on our door...most of His opportunities to care and heal occurred because He was out waking among them."

DOUBLE SLAP

Ahh, may I start to walk among them, LOOKING for ways in which I can reach out and help someone who is less fortunate (and ESPECIALLY not ignore them when they come knocking at my door).