no burden too big....

 

 

"The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves. On a simple level we find that if we have a compassionate heart we naturally have more friends. And scientists today are discovering that while anger and hatred eat into our immune system, warm-heartedness and compassion are good for our health." ~Dalai Lama

Today when I was bagging my groceries, I noticed a gentleman also bagging his. I knew who he was, he worked at the store and had just completed his shift. I couldn't help noticing that he was stuffing as much as he could into a backpack, then filled a plastic grocery bag to almost bursting. It was chilly outside and I figured he would be walking. I asked him if he'd like a ride home instead. He turned me down, saying he would wait for the bus. I knew it would be a long wait, so I smiled and replied that it was not an inconvenience for me to do this. Still bagging, he replied, "well...ok, but I have to make a stop at the liquor store for my 'medicine.'" I assured him that it was still no bother and told him that I would meet him outside. He loaded his things in the backseat of my car, then sat in the front. After his liquor store stop, where he bought a 24 pack of beer, he told me he was so glad his work shift had ended, as his foot was bothering him. I asked what was wrong. He said he had fractured his ankle and was in a lot of pain. Thoughts ran through my head as I pondered the fact that he just completed an eight hour shift...what an ordeal that must have been! And then to have to wait for a bus...in the cold...with all that stuff....with a bad foot and ankle...after a long work shift...

Who am I to make any judgments? 

I once tore my meniscus ( the ligament that covers your kneecap) on some ice. The pain was intolerable and yet I worked my job and took truck driver training on weekends. Eleven hours on Saturday and again on Sunday of double clutching the shift, climbing in and out of the truck....oh yes, I remembered the pain all too well. It was only a few weeks later when I mentioned it to my doctor that she chided me for the constant damage I had done to that knee...which to this day has so much scar tissue that even the knee replacement last year has done nothing for the pain. And I thought of what this man went through. 

Who among you are too busy to walk in another person's shoes? To feel their pain? We all sure jump for joy when we hear good news, like someone winning a jackpot or having time off from work. But what about the flip side...? We are so busy with our own lives and troubles that we don't want to take on another's pain.

But to be like Jesus, we must allow ourselves that inconvenience. We must step into another's shoes. Make no judgments and instead wish them Light, Love and hope that they will have a better day. Who knows, they may just pass that feeling along to another!

Gratefully, this gentleman told me he has the next few days off. Time to heal and recover. As I drove away, I had such a good feeling inside that yes, I too have problems...but just as the story goes about taking up a cross that we initially put down, thinking it too big, so I knew that my pains are nothing compared to another's!

Thanks be to God!