 Excerpt from America The Beautiful: Chapter 16: Life Les-sons From The Road.
When someone invites you into their home they are also inviting you into their life. And since we never really know what people are going through, we won’t know how or why we can bless them unless we truly listen...On this trip I had the opportunity to listen, comfort, support and encourage some people who were going through some really, really tough times. Here are a few examples. I just sat down to lunch with a friend when he received a call from his Doctor telling him he had cancer. I consoled two very strong women who broke into sobs over their at-risk children. I received a call from a grieving widow that a buddy I was planning to visit had just passed away that day. One friend told me she was living with a severely debilitating disease. Another friend was going through a divorce so devastating she was inconsolable. Yet another woman was preparing to put the love of her life into hospice where he would spend his brief remaining time on earth. One couple was scrambling to change their entire lives so they could parent teenage boys. One woman spoke how she was abused as a child, and another spoke about how she had been in a physically abusive marriage. One last thing: If you have ever suffered tragedy, profound loss, depression, injustice, heartbreak, etc. and have asked yourself, “Why me?” then this may be one of the answers. Once you have finally healed and gotten stronger and wiser, you may find you have an entirely new skill set of compassion, wisdom and empathy that you can used to truly help someone. And when and if that person just happens to be one of your hosts, you will understand that you may have been placed there to use your experience to comfort someone. Cover Contents Books Home Hire Stories Comments are closed.
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