Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive.
Put on a heart of compassion. That is something we have talked about at the Village Oaks Kids Club. Compassion is not only internally feeling sympathy for someone, but it is also coming alongside and helping to heal their hurts. Compassion is being the ear to listen, the shoulder to cry on, and the mouth to give advice.
I was sitting with the kids in the Community Center and we were discussing compassion. One by one the kids started to tell their story. One story sticks out in my mind.
A girl stood up and started to tell us the story of her mom. She told us how her mom had left her at a very young age. With tears in her eyes she told us how she prayed to God every night and asked Him to take care of her mom and to bring her home safely. As she finished telling her story some of the other girls came up and started to comfort her. It was amazing to see the heart of God in each of these girls. No one told them to comfort this girl, but they saw someone hurting and instinctively came to her side.
I sat their silently thanking God for what I was witnessing: Heartfelt Compassion.
-- Rickey Fanning
