Sympathetic Love: Taking on Each Other's Sorrows
you sympathize with them.
Jesus: He is not hardened to your distress. p.21
p.22 Our friends need to see our tears over the broken parts of their lives. Part of love is letting them know that their pain matters deeply to us.
I wrestle with trying to find a way to express how dark an devil it is to ignore people's hurt when they're grieving. Let me if this picture helps. (ex.of a friend who lost a wife in a horrible car accident and a counselor walks in all bubbly and cheerful.
p. 23 She could not have communicated more clearly that she had no idea the depth of what he'd been through and was continuing to live out.
God is not like that. Nor can you be. Ignoring pain or changing the subject is neither helpful nor kind.
The longer you study how God has reacted to you in your own pain, the fewer times you will be calloused or indifferent to someone else's pain.
p.25 Real sympathy means to feel what they feel..
p.27 Jesus, our Truest Sympathizer
And he understands firsthand how you are tempted to lash out, self-medicate, run away, manufacture your own diversions, or simply give up, hoping to be left alone. He was tempted in every way.
Just Listen:
One of the easiest ways t0 sympathize is to simply listen to the people around you. This doesn't always feel productive or even practical. Can just sitting with someone and hearing her story be of any benefit? Ask anyone who has suffered, and he'll tell you yes!
SO SO SO SO GOOD!!!
p.29 Here's the lie I think many of us believe: when someone is sad or grieving, I have to say something wise that will be really helpful (SO TRUE--emphasis mine!)......Inviting the other person to tell her or her story is huge, and many times it's one of the few things you can offer.
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