THE AVAILABLE LIFE

I want to be a warm, kind, caring person. I genuinely know in my deepest self that God created me to be that person, and I feel closer to Him and closer to an authentic me when I act in a loving, generous way. (That’s my soul talking.) And I understand that human society is a fragile little ecosystem where we are all linked and interdependent. (That’s my head.) And it feels good to roast that extra turkey for Bethany Center at Thanksgiving, or bake cookies for my son and his friends, or be there when a friend has things he needs to say. My heart reminds me how good it feels.

Sometimes I’m that person I want to be, and sometimes I’m inturned and selfish, oblivious to the feelings and needs of even those closest to me.

In my Companions in Christ group, we reflect on readings and journal every day. Pondering my journal entries, I found these insights about my own empathy barriers.

* I struggle with a fear of losing control. If I make myself available, will people take more time and energy than I can spare from the rest of my life? Will they have expectations I cannot meet?

* When I am wallowing in guilt about my past failings, I have less energy to move ahead and less empathy and compassion.

* When I fail to get enough rest, I cannot meet my own needs or the needs of others.

* When I give my job, or any other activity, permission to take all my waking time, I make myself unavailable for the needs of others.

Maybe you have some of the same barriers. Let us pray together: God, when you are at the center of my life, and I seek your word for me on a consistent basis, my priorities fall into place. Help me to order my life in a way that makes me available to look out for my own most important concerns and the concerns of others. Amen.

— Linda Moody

Courtesy of The Church of the Good Shepherd United Methodist