Entering In

We ran across a blog called http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com. I was so intrigued with this young girls story, who left the "perfect" American life to live her life in the slums of Uganda ministering to and loving the people that I bought her book "Kisses from Katie" We are reading it together as a family. This morning this is part of what we read. (pg 23)

"...everwhere I look, raw filthy human need and brokenness have been on display, begging for someone to meet them, fix them. And even though I realize I cannot always mend or meet, I can enter in. I can enter into someone's pain and sit with them and know. This is Jesus. Not that He apologizes for the hard and the hurt, but that He enters in, He comes with us to the hard places. And so I continue to enter."
You, know, I think I know a bit how she feels. We don't have the overwhelming poverty here that she sees in Uganda, but we have many hearts full of need and brokenness. Sometimes we just need to sit and hurt with people, to "enter in and know."

We are called to good works in Christ, to suffer with Him, to take up our cross daily... and I think that this is one of the biggest of the Christian "Works" that God has for us, (that we are all so afraid to talk about because we are afraid that someone will think that we are saying that we have to earn our salvation) We are to hurt with those who hurt, grieve with those who grieve.

Why don't we? Because we think we have to fix their problem, (and we can't of course).... or we feel overwhelmed..... or we just don't want to hear because we are too busy with our lives. It is hard to just hurt with someone. But what a gift to that person when we do. I want to be more like that, to be able to just listen to someones heart and let them know that someone hears them. I think we all want that, for someone to actually hear our hearts. Jesus does, always, He lives our pain and sorrow, and joy and victories with us. We are to be His hands and feet, and arms and heart to others.

I want to be more like that.