Father of Compassion

Father of Compassion

I have written and rewritten my note to you this week.  I have added and subtracted things. But it still wasn't working.  I really want you to know the One and only God, the Creator of the entire universe, has compassion for you.  He is the Father of compassion.  He wants to comfort all of your pain. Then you will be able to comfort others.  

I was flowing with words about God's compassion for your struggles with marriage or sickness, with rebellious teens or broken relationships.

But over and over again, I stopped. I have resisted putting my own pain out there.  It is too raw, too much to share yet.

I added some verses and the very touching example of Jesus in John 11:33.

His friend Lazarus has died. Lazarus' sister comes out to meet him and falls at his feet weeping. It says "a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled." In verse 35, he wept.  

Despite my efforts, I still did not feel my writing was complete. I realized yesterday, I was going to have to do it. I needed to share my own story.
So here it goes - completely unedited because I have put this off until the last minute.  It is 4:30 am on Friday.  I try to post by 5 am. It looks like I may be late.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.  

Friends, my heart has been broken. Even when I laugh and do regular “life stuff”, there is an ache in my heart.

Four months ago, my sister/best friend, died suddenly of an aortic dissection. The medical examiner said her aorta just split. She was gone instantly. One moment she and her husband were on the couch deciding which pictures from their South Africa trip they were going to have blown up to put on their walls. The next moment she was on the floor, gone.

There are many things about this I'm sure I will share with you over the next few months. For now, I want you to know God truly is close to the brokenhearted. I have seen it so personally and in so many ways.  He is there to comfort you in the midst of your pain. It does not have to be the heartbreak of a sudden death. He will also help you through the struggles and pain that happens in many, many marriages; through the pain of serious illness, of broken relationships and more.

I witnessed the truth of 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 4 the night my sister died.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, (4) who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

As soon as my husband called his family to tell them the news about my sister, my sister-in-law, Beth, jumped in the car with with my other sister and brother-in-law and drove two hours to be with us.  Beth wanted to get to my mom. She said there is deep pain only a mother who has lost a child can understand. There is a deep knowing and understanding these mothers have for each other.  She describes it as a club you never wanted to join. But, you are thankful for the other members who understand.. Fourteen months before this day, Beth’s heart shattered, when our nephew, her son, Noah, had a break in his mind and took his own life.  Over and over through the last eighteen months, I have witnessed Beth comforting others with the comfort she received from God himself.

Friend, the Father of compassion loves you deeply.  He cares about everything that concerns you.  He is “the God who sees” and knows your pain.  

Whatever has caused an ache in you heart, I'm asking you, please -

Never forget the Truth. God has compassion for you.