You might not know it from looking at me but I am very "tender hearted" as my mom used to say. There were so many times growing up that I would go crying to my mom because of some show on PBS about leukemia or aids that my mom finally decreed that I couldn't watch those types of shows anymore because my little heart couldn't take the sadness. When my husband and I were dating he came over one evening to find me bawling in front of a television show on the Animal Planet and thought I had lost my mind, especially when I told him I was crying overa baby monkey that had been eaten by a crocodile. It wasn't long before he decreed that I couldn't watch the Animal Planet anymore. What really gets to me are commercials with heart like the most recent one by Liberty Mutual "Responsibility: What's Your Policy" because they come in fast, grab my heart strings, get the tear ducts going and then leave me with some annoying Taco commercial or something equally irreverent. It is for these reasons and many, many more that I avoid watching Extreme Home Makeover at all costs.Last night however, I was sucked in by the teaser and before I knew it I was bawling in front of the television once again. My husband returned from running an errand and found me in all my teary glory, looked at the television, and let out a huge sigh, "Why are you watching this? You know you can't take it!" I knew he was right but sometimes I need to be reminded of the good in this world, even if it comes with some sadness. This particular episode featured the story of the Hawkins family, victims of an F-3 tornado in Henderson, Tennessee. While husband firefighter Jerrod was on duty the tornado hit his home directly, ripping the house from its foundation. Wife, Amy, heroically saved her sons by lying on top of them in the basement while bricks, debris and concrete hit Amy causing permanent injuries that resulted in paralysis and life-long confinement to a wheelchair.
Led by the Brentwood Fire Department, the community rallied around the family with food, monetary and material donations - two hundred volunteers combed the remains of their house after the tornado to recover anything worth salvaging, and the local cleaners took all their remaining clothes and cleaned them for free. Their hometown of Hendersonville collected over 50,000 names on a petition to plead for help on behalf of the family. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rebuilt the Hawkins home to be wheelchair compatible and to include a family safe room to give the Hawkins peace of mind in the event of another tornado.
Someone once said the difference between sympathy and compassion is that the one who sympathizes, sees and feels, but does nothing while the one who has compassion, sees, feels, and then does something about the need. Every day we have the opportunity to touch others no matter how large or how small the opportunity; the difference between sympathy and compassion revolves around "living" Jesus in that person's life. How are you showing compassion in your life?
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.
1 Corinthians 1:3
1 Corinthians 1:3
Your thoughts?
2 comments:
So sorry to have passed this particular gene on to you :(
Mom
I'm right there with you! Once at my parents' farm, I went out at night with my husband and brother. There were always creatures on the farm to be dealt with. My job was to hold the flashlight. A rabbit came scurrying by and they yelled at me to keep the flashlight focused on it. I did for a few seconds but when I realized they were about to take aim and fire, I turned it away, they were left in the dark, and the rabbit lived for another night. I never went with them again.
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