Love Through the Pain

     Have you ever held a child as they cried for the mother who beat and bruised them? Cared for their physical scars, and cried for their emotional ones? Have you ever been spit on or bit, or hit by a child crying out to be loved through their pain and anger? Have you ever seen pain so deep in their eyes that you can't keep the emotions from boiling over when you thought about it? Some children wonder if they will ever be loved, and some have already given up on it, pushing everyone around them away so they won't be hurt anymore. Sometimes these kids grow up and stay angry and hurt, they get shifted around in the system until they age out. Often they find their way back into the system, except  this time it's behind bars and not in foster care.
     I'm writing this post today not to tell you to go out and become a foster parent, because honestly, some people just aren't cut out for it. Working as a nanny for a foster family for two years I learned that first hand. Mostly, I decided to write this because I just felt that there are times when we are hurting or struggling and we forget about the pain that others endure. Working for that foster family really put that in perspective for me. It was a humbling, and rewarding experience that has and always will be a part of me.
      To get back on topic though, the point I want to make is this, we all hurt at some point, we all have pain that we need to learn to overcome. Some scars are physical, some are not. Some people carry their pain where everyone can see it, and some hide it deep inside. I thought I knew pain, I thought I knew what it was to hurt, but when I started to care for these children my eyes were opened to true suffering. When you're having a bad day, when you think that the world is against you and all you can think is 'poor me' do yourself a favor and think of these kids in foster care, think of the homeless, think of the poor and unloved. Remind yourself how blessed you are, but don't stop there. Let that thought of the needy move you to compassion, let the thoughts of how blessed you are move you to bless someone else.
     What good are our blessings, our talents, our love, our compassion if we are not moved to help someone else?  I used my memories of the pain the children endured to get your attention yes, but I also mentioned how some end up in jail as adults. It doesn't have to be that way, though. A little love and compassion can go a long way, and not just with these kids, with anyone. We are the church, we are called to love, and to teach love. Take your pain, take your suffering, and do something with it, do something about it. Love someone else because you need love. This is how you reach the hurting, and help each other to heal. This is how we teach them who Jesus is, not by our words but by our hearts. In your pain look past yourself, look to those who are in need and love them. Follow the example of Christ, who on cross in the midst of great suffering loved you.

1 John 4:19-21
We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.