Do you remember the pushmi-pullyu, the gazelle-unicorn or the two-headed llama in Dr Dolittle? I realized today I have a push/pull reaction to compassion these days. I went to an Arlington District Clergy meeting yesterday morning. I encountered colleagues there who were very caring, wanting to know how Jeff is doing, and how I am doing. After a far too brief word, all I wanted to do was sidle away from them. I sat on a row by myself when normally I would have sat with friends.
The push/pull is that I deeply appreciate the genuine caring and yet the intensity is sometimes too great for me. The push/pull is also that I need to let folks know about what’s going on and yet I want to withdraw.
I give thanks for friends and colleagues who care, who rejoice when I rejoice, who weep when I weep. I also give thanks for and ask for understanding for when I might seem brusque and unappreciative of compassion offered. I am not unappreciative. It’s just that at any particular moment I might need folks to just sit and let me sit. And I pray that I can offer that same gift to others when even a gentle hug, nudge or question might simply be too much.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
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