There is a stray cat that lives at the Uptown Station in New Orleans. Actually, I guess it is not a stray, it is simply homeless. It stands at the back door and yowls for food. It is very skinny. It has evidently been fed a few times because it keeps coming back.
I felt some compassion for it so I put out a donut for it. Hey, it was breakfast time. He didn't eat it. The next day I found a can of sardines. Wow, cat in cat heaven. The next day I bought a bag of meow mix. I knew he would like that because cats ask for it by name.
When I leave, maybe someone will feed the cat, and maybe they won't. I don't know. Maybe it will live it's life and go the way of so many strays. Cold, frightened, hungry.
There are some people down here like this cat. Every day in front of Lowes and Home Depot, there are at least 100 men standing out there looking for work. Homeowners come to buy supplies and then take one or two of the men home, and pay them to help with repairs. It is very sad to see so many men just sitting and waiting to work. It reminds me of the pictures from the depression.
Underneath the highway there is a tent city. Blocks and blocks of tents grouped together where stray people live. It is the saddest thing I have seen in a long time. I hear that many people stopped and brought food and presents at Christmas, but who feeds them the rest of the year?
Compassion fatigue. That is when you get tired of caring. I am afraid that sometimes, we even get tired of talking about being tired of caring. "Don't bother me with the needs of others, just let me go back to my life."
Friends, we are blessed. So very blessed.
We can make it a beautiful day for others.
2 comments:
Compassion Fitgue...interesting reality. Did Jesus suffer from it? If it's a reality, what did it look like on Him?
If I were the stray, how would I behave? Would I give out pathetic groans for attention? Or would I become an attack-stray, demanding my share of attention? I suspect my sense of entitlement may be transformed into a sense of not being worth so much.
As I sit in my comfortable home, listening to the furnace run, typing on my laptop, sipping on a hot cup of coffee, enjoying so blessed a life...I am impressed with my unworthiness even now. What if I were a stray? Perhaps I am a stray in this world. I think of an old song, not sung anymore, "This World Is Not My Home...I'm Just A Passing Through..." But, I'm not a stray, for I am on an accompanied journey through this place. But, I get feeling pretty comfortable, with or without my journey-Companion at times.
Well, my friend, this rambling is not worth attaching to the blog. I only starting writing it to tell you that Compassion fatigue for you is not "when you get tired of caring." You will never become tired of caring, for that is who you are becoming in Him. Rather, you only get tired "in" caring. That may look the same on the surface, for fatigue demands a break. The difference is the ever-present compassion even in the time of walking away.
Just as heart condition is monitored by how long it take to "recover" after expending energy, I suspect as we become spiritually conditioned, recovery time from fatigue becomes a significant phenomenon to monitor. I think for you, perhaps the ride home leaves you ready to return. You are leading a people group into His heart of compassion. A significant post, I think. I look forward to the morning. I think caring for people, and feeding strays, is preparation for the pulpit. I bless the Lord for who He is in you.
Yes, we are so very blessed. January seems to be a time when we forget that. We are consumed with the extra LBS gained over the holidays, dealing with credit card bills from Christmas and often feel we "gave enough during the holidays." It is important we not forget the cold, hungry and scared. Perhaps the New Year Resolutions of losing weight and getting out of debt (top two resolutions according to the Today show this morning :-) be put on list UNDER a resolution to give to others consistently throughout the year.
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