The Right Words

Tonight I did a very boring thing...I revised the church Constitution. Luckily, I had great company in which to do this tedious work (thanks Sandra!). But as we both sat on her couch, after an AMAZING meal (again, thanks Sandra!) we were dumbfounded by the use of difficult words and repetition. We had to really concentrate to hone in on the correct words to replace the run-on sentences we were reading. It was a struggle to find hidden meaning and effectively communicate what we wanted to say. And lucky for us, we get to work on the by-laws another time, ha ha!

When I got home, my phone was ringing. My dear friend was crying on the other end of the line because a loved one had just passed away. I spent some time on the phone, just listening, letting her cry and talk about what had happened, and then giving her the comforting advice that came to my mind. When we finished talking, she said she felt better and told me I was going to be a great pastor. I hope so.

What a contrast tonight from a moment when I couldn't seem to find the right words to say to a time when the right words came easily. Do you know what the difference was? Compassion. Having compassion for another person, being able to TRULY feel their pain, gives you the ability to love like Christ loved. And when we love and we are more like Christ, His spirit flows through us, enabling us to say the right words and communicate the right feelings. He helps us know when to talk and when to just listen. When we struggle by ourselves to do the right thing, often we fall short. But when we are in the center of God's will, loving God's people, we can do NO WRONG!

I was able to show compassion today to someone who needed it. Is there someone around you today that needs you to understand what they are feeling? If so, ask God for His compassion and then watch what happens. He will use YOU to speak into their life!