Feeling Your Pain

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

Today was Open House at my daughter's preschool so we had to go "meet and greet" her new teacher. Recently, my husband has been home more so I have been leaving ML at home with him while I go run errands because let's face it... it's just easier that way... and if you remember I said earlier...she is a Daddy's girl. Sooo, today when I announced we were going to the school, she said she wasn't going, she was staying home with Daddy. We both tried to explain to her that she couldn't because Daddy was leaving for work and she had to go meet her teacher and all of her new friends and find out about all of the fun things that were in store for her to experience and learn this upcoming year at school. But, she was having none of that. At that moment, you would have thought her heart broke. She began to cry and say that she didn't want to go to school this year, or make new friends, or learn new things.

Now, this wasn't a cry like a temper tantrum cry... this was a true, my heart is broken and I really don't know to deal with this situation cry. Well, as usual I was running late so I didn't have much time or patience for her breakdown because to be quite honest at that moment it didn't seem all that important. I knew that once she got to the school, she would be fine because she would see some friends from last year, all of the toys in the classroom and be totally happy within the next 30 minutes if I could just get her out of the door.

Well, we struggled out the door and into the classroom where she wasn't pleasant for about the first 10 minutes. Of course once she saw some friends and decided to play with the toys and color - she was fine. However, as we drove home... I was not. I began to feel convicted about the way I had treated her in the middle of her breakdown. I didn't take the time to realize or consider that in a 3 year old's mind and emotional maturity level, her situation was a big deal to her. Her pain was real to her and her suffering was real to her. And I had shrugged it off and glossed over it and moved on to the next thing because I was focused on me and where I was going instead of stopping to comfort her in her pain.

It was like what she was experiencing wasn't important to me, because I wasn't feeling it. I'm not sure if this makes any sense, but I guess the lesson I got from it was that we do this same thing alot with our Christian brothers and sisters - and to those who aren't Christians. We think that what ever pain or situation they are struggling with isn't that big of a deal, or that it seems silly or trivial, or that they will be just fine if they will just get on with it. But... we don't take the time to see things from their point of view, to consider what their feelings are at their emotional or spiritual maturity level. Maybe what ever they are going through or struggling with isn't a big deal from our point of view, but from theirs it is. This has reminded me to stop focusing on what I have to get done, and comfort others when they need it. After all, Jesus always comes to comfort me with whatever breakdown I am having on any given day.