That Thing About Compassion, Dear Writer

We're emotional creatures, we writers. We don't have to have mood swings or drama or crazy (though I probably have all three) to be creative...

But we do have to feel in order to help others feel. And most of us came into the world feeling deeply.

We hurt for the girl with the tracks on her arms at Old Navy. We are physically affected by others' pain. Some of us become emotionally paralyzed when our own grief hits, reflecting rather than doing.

{I would argue that taking a little longer to reflect is actually healthier than what American culture tells us... which is, move on without processing.}

I was twenty-one years old when I finally heard the words, "There is nothing wrong with you. Deep feeling means deep caring."

I'd lived my whole life believing I was too sensitive. That somehow, some way, I would grow thicker skin and become "normal" as I aged. That eventually my compassion level would switch to average.

A gift.

Dear writer friend, your ability to show compassion is a gift. Your pain, your agony, even, is your gift to the world--one that says, I see your pain. I feel your suffering. You are not alone.

Sound familiar?

God with us... Emmanuel.

His Spirit inside of you.

Keep being you. Keep feeling. Keep loving. And keep knowing when it is time to hand it off to Him... the one who comforts us so that we can comfort others with that same comfort.

I love you, and so does the one who never ceases to be with us...