Accountability Post #9 – Empathy

We cleaned out a large storage closet of youth ministry junk the other day at work, and among some other things, I got to bring home two Fantastic Inflatable Superdudes!  Check it out!

Shiny!

It may seem to you that they are small, but I’ll have you know, they’re taller than my 1 year old son.  And their dimensions may seem improbable, but if you squeeze their heads, they squeak.  Try to imagine how you would feel if you’re dad brought home two, squeaky-headed, oddly proportioned superheroes that were a foot taller than you; what would you do?  You’d probably do what my boy did, grab them by the cape and throw them around for a while. 

One more thing about inflatable superheroes:  they deflate.

I’ve spent a lot of time the last couple days thinking about, praying for, listening to, trying to give council to and hurting over friends/loved ones who are just plain-old-struggling.  The abundance doesn’t depress me because I think empathy is part of what makes being a human being doable, but it does cause my heart to hurt for the human condition.  Ooooo doggy, life is hard sometimes.

It was with the deflated heart of an inflatable superhero that I came to Isaiah 11 & 12.  I promise you that my best attempts at writing would not be able to convey to you the beauty of these Words as I sat hunched over my Bible at the end of a long day – better than a good cup of coffee.  You’ll just have to read them yourself, but before you do… read the World News for a while to achieve the right level of deflated-ness.

Amen.  Come, Lord Jesus!

p.s. I finished ground tilling/raking today and returned the tiller to our friends who let us borrow it, so combined with the golf club swinging of this week, my arms have had a pretty good workout. 

So long, Ground Tiller, you will not be missed.