compassion

this verse have been on the inside of my kitchen cabinet for years. four years to be exact.






the verse is 2 corinthians 1:3-4..and i printed it out four years ago and made it my mission.

" Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God." 2 Cor1:3-4


today, i got to take that piece of paper and share it with a group of nurses in a sensitivity training class at UNM. i got to share sydney's story, her life and her death, those first few days in the hospital as the "that mom" or "the stillborn lady or mom" and share with them about compassion and how to take care of such a mom.

i shared with them an analogy i thought of this week...about when one of my boys gets hurt. REALLY badly hurt and is sobbing uncontrollably. he can't hear any of my words over his crying, so all i can do is hold him. my presence is enough. my arms and my hands around his body and my soft touch soothes way more than any words. it is the same way with the grieving mom. she is either crying outwardly or inwardly so loud, she cannot hear your words....the only language she speaks in her twilight zone life all of the sudden is touch. she needs you to be near to her, hold her or sit in silence with her, listen to her and cry with her.

i told them that if each of them looked into their own lives, they would see past hurts or traumas or losses that affected them. i asked them to remember what worked for them and what didn't, what helped them to feel affirmed or comforted, what made them feel at peace and what put up walls...i asked them to be human, to be women, nurturing and kind and tender, not robots, not white coat and rule red tape minded...the heart broken does not respond to that. be a friend, be a sister, be tender and compassionate...return the compassion someone once gave you at your lowest point and give it to this hurting human being right now....you don't have to compare situations, just pull from the place you share. your heart.

i shared with them part of the verse above but knew many might not get it....i prayed and prayed that they would, with my examples and analogies and tears.


when i was done. they got it. God in his mercy and faithfulness, showed them what i meant, what he meant in that sweet verse. they got it. one girl thanked me, she had never seen it that way before.

i thanked her in return. thanked her and the rest of them for letting me share our daughter's story. for letting me talk about her. and most importantly, letting our story and experience one day help someone else that's hurting....and birth compassion. over and over. and over.


so proud to be sydney's momma today, to share her life/death story of the first days and onward with sweet nurses who take care of momma's like me in the acute stages of grief. such a sweet responsive group of women today who sincerely got my message of compassion and empathy AND tears! praise GOD for His faithfulness in helping me share HIS compassion He gave to me to give to others when it's their turn. our daughter made a difference today, i saw it. what a beautiful little girl, still teaching me and others...to HIM be the Glory!