The Pain of Others

When I hear or see something that pains another person, I feel their pain too. I have always thought that I need to protect myself from that. But, because of my need to draw closer to Jehovah and my newly found voice, I am wondering if that line of thinking was wrong. Is there a purpose for the pain I feel for others?

My first experience of feeling the pain of others was when I was a very young girl, maybe around 4 or so. I heard my mom crying in her bedroom. I came in and found her weeping. I didn't know why she was so upset. She was on the phone and I tried to get her to look at me, to tell me what was wrong but she couldn't. In that moment, all I could feel was the pain she was feeling and started weeping too. Now, I don't discount she had every right to be crying (she had just learned her best-friends 10 year old daughter had died) but her reaction to me crying was one of "why are you crying, you don't even know what happened, why I am crying." At that moment, I learned that unless you know what is going on, you have no right to join me in my pain. Although my heart still felt the pain of others, I kept it in, because that's what you do.

However, as life when on, I let a few drops of pain slip through and made them shown, made them known, let them affect my emotions. The trouble with that is I suffer from depression. So, in order to protect myself from the downward spiral of that dark place, I again stuffed the pain I felt for others.

As I have grown in my relationship with Jehovah, a funny thing has happened. I am allowing myself to feel the pain for others again.  Allowing myself to relate, to join in that pain and to help those heal from whatever pain they are feeling. So, again, I ask, is there a purpose for the pain I feel for others?

I truly feel there is! 

How can we help heal others from their pain, if we don't feel that pain right along    side them? 

How can we direct them to a God who completely understand their pain if we can't understand their pain?

This is my purpose for the pain I feel for others, to help others heal.  It is okay to allow those emotions in.  Because in the end, we know that Jehovah is right there with us, feeling it with us and helping us direct them to Him for healing.

Today I am linking up with other women who are writing about Pain for a Purpose.  Please follow the link below to read their amazing stories.

Have a Blessed Day!