Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

I was reading today on Mathew and how Jesus had compassion on the multitudes of people. His cousin, John the baptist, had been beheaded not long ago and he had just received the news of his death. Because of that, he went to a solitary place to pray( and possibly process the pain). However, the crowds did not care, they followed him ,they wanted their sick healed. And he had compassion and healed them, without having much time to grieve the loss.

I was thinking today of this. Where did he find the compassion and the patience to do this?
If someone close to me had died, and a few people would request my service, what would my reaction be?
I know very well how I would react (at least inside). "The hack with your many needs, I need time for me. I don't care if you are struggling with x psychotic episode, or mania, or depression, I don't care if you have relationship problems, or your dog died, or that you have been given x months to live due to cancer. I don't care that you are homeless or that as soon as you leave x program you will pick up the bottle or use."

At school,we were strongly encouraged that if somebody close to our families died, we would take days off and process first. Clearmindedness was and is key to helping the other person: not bring the 'junk' with you,but make it all about the other. Separating from and distancing the self from intense situations for a while.
Such a strength of spirit that Jesus exerts in the scriptures, to serve when this distancing process hadn't quite fully happened for him, I find it is quite hard to have. Yet it says he was moved by compassion.
I find compassion is such a muscle. It is a spiritual muscle that if not put to practice and trained it dies. I also feel like it is a continuum. You can never have too much of it and never, very little.

The only stories that pull at my heart strings these days,are the men and women surviving unspeakable trauma,that somehow,in some way shape or form ,they made it through, with obvious emotional scars,but they did make it through. And that's what truly counts. It's quite inspiring and quite rewarding to be part of their healing process. To be the quiet eye in the storm.
But at times I second guess myself: Do I really need these extreme stories to make me feel compassionate toward fellow men and women? Isn't " my dog died" sad enough for me? At times it feels like I could care less and that I need to look deep within to find a string of compassion toward some people with their silly demands and minuscle complaints.

If it were left up to me, I would choose not to grow in compassion much; it's annoying to always try to understand the other's point of view or be in the other person's shoes. However, if it were also left up to me, my lack of compassion would lead to a calloused heart. And I am not a cryer (no matter how much I have worked into expressing my emotions), I don't express what's happening inside, I can fool people easily into believing whatever I want them to.

Because God is compassionate, I feel inspired and challenged to grow in compassion, it leads me to be honestly humble, to reveal the struggles, writing helps me be soft, praying helps me be soft, Jesus' example, the Scriptures, my friends, and lastly the people I serve because I do see a lot of broken humanity, and I see things for how they really are.

Isaiah 49:15
“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!-says the Lord

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
I will not forget you!
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are ever before me.
17 Your children hasten back,
and those who laid you waste depart from you.
18 Lift up your eyes and look around;
all your children gather and come to you.
As surely as I live,” declares the Lord,
“you will wear them all as ornaments;
you will put them on, like a bride.





See! I have engraved you on the palms of my hands, your walls are ever before me!!

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

It is not just feeling sorry for or bad for another person, though feeling can become a great motivator. Compassion however, if left up to feeling, will die after some time.

Compassion is a conviction and convictions by definitions have a foundation on steady, continual practice; they have a don't-give-up philosophy.
As mentioned above, it is a muscle to be excercized. If not put to use it feels rusty, I become prideful easily if I don't associate with people who are needy, because they remind me of mortality, of how frail life is. Ultimately, I am not sure who is saving who: Am I doing a favor to them, or are they doing one to me by keeping me in touch with what is truly human. I seriously think it is the latter. My friendships in everyday life have deepened, are much more meaningful because of them.

The more one practices compassion and becomes a conviction, the more it starts becoming part of you and hopefully part of your character. Therefore as it grows into a character trait, it is not about " she can be compassionate sometimes" but it is about " she is a compassionate person."

Similarly, Jesus shows compassion in a steady way, and also in action. I read somewhere that compassion is passion in action. You may truly feel bad ,sorry and even cry for someone, however if the feeling is not accompanied by a genuine nonsexual, pure act of service in helping someone without thinking who this person is or what he/she represents, the sorrying and crying won't do much, won't touch, won't change a life.

The greatest motivator is prayer. Jesus drew a lot of strength from God by praying and spending time alone with him in a consistent basis. Prayer has the strange ability to transform the brink of burn-out to a renewed spirit so when you serve, you are not serving half-heartedly, under compulsion or clenching your teeth, cussing under your breath just because life is hard. Prayer changes perspective of things, turn things around and puts a smile in your face. The burden is the same, the service never changes, however the changed attitude in prayer, the transformed perspective of seeing things in a better, different light, all at a sudden brings to a subtle miracle, the strength to go on with a smile no matter what.

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Modifikuar nga lorie datë 23/10/2012 ora 10:15

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

on your laptop screen, on the pumpkin decorated stairs, in the extra underlined pages of the Bible, the smell of coffee, the taste of cider, the crisp air and the lungs screaming. For the days when God brings you back to his tender heart, subtly, tenderly and strikingly.
God is multifaceted; he has an iron fist for his discipline, a steady fatherly hand. He is a close intimate friend, an impersonal objective natural-law giver, a passionate lover and a compassionate husband.
This blog is for the days when he shows himself the latter, the lover, the husband, when passion and compassion oozes in everything around me. I go back discovering and rediscovering, reading and re-reading, exploring and re-...and being impressed still. This journey with God is never boring, the more I explore, the more I need "re". Rewind. Redo. Rethink.Relive.Revive.Relove.
Isaiah is a book that I go to very often. It is the book that every woman falls in love with because every woman sees herself through God's eyes and feels loved, cherished, protected and special.

But first let's back track!
Let me explain that the book of Isaiah is a special book in many ways. It was written 750 years before Christ. Isaiah was a prophet and generally speaking prophets have a poetic, insightful and intuitive way of expressing themselves. In a way it is a no- brainer that I would like this book so much, because it is expressed with meaning, insight and poetry, things I breathe in and out daily.
However, the book of Isaiah is also a historical book. It describes the Assyrian invasion, the Babylonian captivity, fore-tells the doom of Babylon, Philistia, Moab, Ethiopia, Egypt and Tyre. It also foretells the arrival of a Messiah from Bethlehem called Emmanuel (God with us) in several places so much so that this book is called 'The Messianic book' or 'The 5th gospel.' The evidence is truly overwhelming if you look deeply to the facts of Christ's existence from a book written hundreds years ago.
But, this blog is focused more on the passages that God through Isaiah expresses the deepest love and compassion, protection and kindness toward the chosen people ,Israel, defending them from the Assyrians, Babylonians and so forth.
It starts in describing how He loves Israelites and it evolves into generalizing how God will love the future generations through Christ. Through that, I see the compassion of a husband and the passion of a lover.
I love Isiah 54 when it states to "lengthen my cords and enlarge the place of my tent, to not hold back" because it always reminds me to keep pushing my limits, to not shrink back, to give my best and let my heart be opened to new possibilities and learning new things. And most importantly to keep loving people more. I love that it reminds me that my Maker is my husband. Even if I were married, He would still remain my spiritual husband, the one who counsels me, who guides my steps. I love how He identifies himself: The Lord Almighty is his name!-meaning 'Don't mess around with God's bride!" I like how he describes the creation of a nation ( Israelites) as if describing the creation of a baby, formed in the womb, giving the baby identity, a name , identifying the baby with the father " You are God's, you are the Maker's. I also love how God identifies himself as 'The Holy one of Israel" (Isaiah 54). He identifies himself by connecting himself to the nation he chose. What an honor! The God of Israel, the God of Isaiah, my God, Lori's God! The baby is identified by the father, the father is identified by the baby. The bride knows the groom, the husband knows his wife and they are ONE.
In Isaiah 43:4, I read something that has always shaken my world and has always pushed me to see love in a perspective that I find radical,scary and much freeing. It says: Since you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you I will give men in exchange for you and people in exchange for your life. Now I know this passage is specifically to help the Israelites fight their wars and be victorious.A lot of bloodshed to win the battles happened then, and their lost lives were exchanged for Isreals' victory. This passage however has a spiritual meaning to it and it is applicable to people nowadays and to me. Giving another man's life in exchange for mine always reminds me of Jesus sacrifice for me, so I may know God deeply, the right way, to the full measure ,through Christ. It is ground breaking and radical because such a selfless love is scary to me, but it is also freeing to know that I am unconditionally loved and nothiiiing I could ever do could turn him away.


Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
he rises to show you compassion,
for the Lord is a god of justice
blessed are all who wait for him.
Isaiah 30:18

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

Bashkangjitje: is 43.jpg
Ky file është shkarkuar 46 herë.

.

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

Bashkangjitje: is 54.jpg
Ky file është shkarkuar 44 herë.

.

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

are the same and only thing. They reveal the inside and the inside is pretty dirty, otherwise no cleaning would be required, would it now? One doesn't necessarily clean without looking first, without some soul searching, some heightened awareness of the situation, some rearranging.
Usually what I have been brewing inside will show sooner or later (depends on person and occasion). In Matthew 15: 11b Jesus says: what comes out of a mans' mouth, this is what makes him unclean. So,question is, what have I been brewing inside? Even a better question is: Is it pleasing to God?
I find that whenever I do this introspection, I am not just living a religious life; going to church, talking to people about God, reading the Bible. I am not just doing things to go through the motions as if lifeless. I let God's word seep in my heart, gradually, brew within until it resonates, it makes sense, it grows and I live it out. His word is real and it helps me see my inadequacies and my weaknesses ( not that it is a pleasant process) but it is needed and worthed because it motivates me to grow in being more like Christ in his godly character. God's word is supposed to do that, to change the heart inside out, to clean it like a dish. In Hebrews 4:12 a great passage describes God's word:

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Here's the catch! Looking intently at God's word and living it out in my life is what separates a religious person from a Spirited-filled person. Religion is about facade, following Christ involves the entire ME. And ME needs a lot of inside cleaning, on a daily basis, throwing the old and putting on the new self, packing up the suitcases of rust and shipping them to Neverland. That's right! Thank you but no thank you.

Jesus was pretty angry at the religious people of his day, the Pharisees and the Saducees. Some of them were well learned Rabbi-s who followed religious rules but their hearts were far away from the living God. It's like building a dam 4 feet tall, accurately measured and thick when Hurricane Sandy gushes through 90 Mph, 13 feet tall threatening your very life. Where are your measures and rules and squeezing God in a box now? Rules won't save anyone, rules keep people in bondage and Jesus was so adamant to tell them how WRONG they truly were. In Matthew 23: 23-28 he lays pretty bluntly their hypocrisy.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

I love how fearless he is and I also appreciate that his honesty with them was motivated by love. His motive is to help them correct their ways; it is for them to change, not to look down on them. It is like saying to the Pope in Vatican: Dude, look how much money you have, feed the poor, spread the wealth, don't hug it for your selfish reasons.
What would the reaction be?

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

somedays to be patient with certain people in my life, friends etc. I feel I expect them to act a certain way and if they don't, I don't gently correct them for their benefit.
Instead I think they should know better, they should have certain things down by now and move along. They should keep it together and not me trying to do the cheerleader for them.

I feel impatience has grown more due to my job in the Crisis Unit. Because I see acute crisis, people who are struggling to take their lives away through different means, I find it hard to connect with mundane daily issues. I almost want to say: You don't know what's happening to x person who has no food, no place to go, has past hx of trauma and abuse and is completely lonely with no social supports-so don't complain.

On the other hand, I also find that it is important for me to respect God's desire for me to be patient. I believe in the idea that there's no excuse for me to be impatient, no matter what is happening in my life. I believe strongly in patience and compassion and ironically it is in these very two qualities I am being challenged the most these days: my very two strengths are being tested.

And when I feel I am being tested on my strengths it is like a fish struggling about swimming, or a bird challenged because of its singing. It is unnatural to my personality. And to restore that back, it would be to use the psychological tools and a lot of prayer, to rely on God for filling my bucket with water so I may not run dry.

Challenges like these always remind me of what C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity, has written about being deeply aware of one's own inedaquacy and badness. It may not sound so encouraging but it definitely encourages me because he expresses in a real way what people are truly all about.

It encourages me because in a more clear sense it has revealed to me my impatience, and in doing so, it has revealed to me my need for a savior. I need this humbling, I need to be reminded of Christ as my savior and the awareness that I fail at times even in my strongest assets.

C.S. Lewis- Mere Christianity

No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. …A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means – the only complete realist.

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

It was a Friday morning that my friend and I embarked to help out the people affected by Hurricane Sandy. We drove for 5 hours to arrive on time for the shift at 2 PM where Hope World Wide Disaster Corps and Red Cross had organized food distribution to the major neighbourhoods destroyed.

I liked the ride through New York in which the GPS led us through the major neighborhoods instead of taking a freeway to Staten. We passed through Bronx, Queens, Broadway, Manhattan, New Jersey. We passed by beautiful parks,tall buildings, stores and wild driving all the way singing Alicia Keys song of New York: concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there's nothing you can do,you are in New York-it's such a fitting description. Those streets are mean indeed ( though I liked the thrill of sneaking my car into traffic and making my way through). At one point my friend started singing her own version of Alicia Keys' song: 'New York, where people always drive recklessly, you are in New York.'


WE LAUGHED.

When we arrived to the Island, we saw a different picture of New York, not so glorious, not so dreamy,colorful or flashy. It was quite impressive to hear people say that they never expected such a thing to happen to such a place as New York. Never in history had they seen New York being affected by a hurricane that could stop the subways, flood them with water, rend the tunnels useless and suspend life for a little. I bet it was a humbling experience to a people who are always on the go. It was a point in history to reflect.
We arrived at the main site right on time to serve. The plan was to help fill up the Red Cross trucks ( they were called Ervs) with cases of food, cambroses of hot meals, snacks, water, and fruits. Once they were ready, we separated to help out at different neighborhoods affected. The drivers used speakers to announce in the streets that we had hot meals and snacks and kept stopping their trucks whenever people approached the Ervs to have something to eat. They were quite grateful of the meals served. Most of them did not have electricity or heat. Many residents could not use their cars and many cars had the numbers of the insurances written on their windshield. I guess many New Yorkers must like Geico...During the route, I saw many boats positioned straight up, or standing weirdly upon another one. What I also saw during that shift when night was landing, the place looked like a ghost town, and we were ready to head back was groups of people hanging out together , playing happy music and even dancing. We thought it was so good for people to find some joy at times like this.

The next day we prepared to serve early for the morning shift. I was placed at a different route with other Red Cross workers. That day I got to know a little more the Red Cross workers. Most of them were retirees, who had travelled from different places especially California,driving those Ervs for 4 days straight to Staten Island. Some had chosen to use their vacation time to serve there for 2-3 weeks. Their dedication inspired me. They had driven for 4 days, I had driven for only 4 hours- it was quite eye opening.

We loaded the trucks again and that day we gave away every single hot meal we had in. Every truck had 150-200 hot meals needing to be distributed within a 4 hour shift. People again were so grateful they could have a hot meal to count on while waiting in the cold. The construction workers doing repairs, the children, parents, mothers, husbands would come in groups of 3 or 4 and take their meals and thank us. At the end of the last meals,when we are running out of meatloaves, a man came by, hoping he would have a hot meal: "I have been waiting for a hot meal, I could use one today." he said while we felt sad there was no more and we had to get back to base to fill the truck up for the evening shift.
"It's ok, I can take the gravy without the meat in it."-he added in a grateful tone.

This time around I got to see the destroyed sights more clearly. I saw houses having an X on their doors indicating either that they were dangerous to live in or that someone had died inside... A woman who happened to live in Staten Island, was showing us around the streets, telling us stories I had heard through the news but not experienced quite vividly and so close emotionally. She talked about the woman who lost her two children while she was knocking on someone else's door to find safety for them. It felt more personal and closer emotionally rather than hearing it on the news. She talked about her girl-friend's house being destroyed and got emotional over it as the truck stopped by for her to show the house to us. She talked about how important it is to not get attached to material things.
I agreed, however, the greatest loss that ever happened there, was without a doubt the lost lives. The idea of living life going about your business and your life being taken away so unexpectedly is sobering and could lead to a changed heart, changed life, more thankful, more meaningful in the future. Is New York reflecting the loss? Or are they about their business again, on the go, another day.

When we came back, the next day my friend and I sang another song:
Encourage my soul and
let us journey on,
for the night is dark,
and I am far from home
Thanks be to God
the morning light appears
The storm is passing over,
The storm is passing over,
The storm is passing over,
Hallelujah!

WE CRIED.

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar

Regjistruar: 24/07/2003
Vendbanimi: in you
Mesazhe: 3137

Bashkangjitje: erv.jpg
Ky file është shkarkuar 22 herë.

.

__________________
Philippians 4:8-Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

Denonco këtë mesazh tek moderatorët | IP: e regjistruar