Jesus once said, “Blessed are those who mourn.” One definition of the word mourn is to care deeply. Blessed are those who care deeply for others. The people who have the greatest sense of serenity are people who are compassionate, kind people. We are never closer to God and than when we are wrapping our arms around another human being. Someone once prayed, “Oh God, forgive us for looking at the world with dry eyes.” When we are moved by the hurts of others, we are very close to God and life. A reporter asked a Roman Catholic lay worker who cared for babies dying of AIDS about one of the babies She said that her mother was a prostitute and a heroin addict, she didn’t want the baby, and the dying baby was born with AIDS and addicted to heroin. The reporter asjed, “Why did you bring her to your community if she is going to die very shortly?” And the woman, without hesitation, said, “So she will know life and all of its fullness.” The reporter responded, “How can this baby know life in its fullness?” The caring woman said, “She will know there are people in the world who love her.” We are never closer to God, to an authentic fulfilling life, as when we care enough to embrace another hurting soul with love.
– Dr. Tim Thompson