Today's reading

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. –Psalm 86:15 NIV

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Compassion Personified

But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. –Psalm 86:15 NIV

One day while delivering the mail, I saw a man riding a bike toward me. He was obviously homeless. All his belongings were strapped to his bike in a duffel bag. As he got closer, he asked if I had a minute. My first thought was that he either wanted money, a cigarette, a light, or all of the above. Those were the usual requests I heard from others like him. Yet, I stopped and asked him how I could help, and his answer totally shocked me. He said, “Hold out your hand.” When I asked him why, he just asked me again to hold out my hand. So, I held out my hand. He put money in MY palm, $1.50 to be exact. He then said, “It’s hot, you look exhausted, go get yourself a coke.” When I told him that I couldn’t accept his money, he just got on his bike and rode away. He called back to me, “It’s already done.” I was never so humbled and blessed in my life. This encounter reminded me that God became a human like us so that He might understand our journey. Compassion shares the burden of another. I learned a valuable lesson that day. Today let us show compassion and God’s love to everyone we meet.

prayer focuses

God became a human, through Jesus, that He might be compassionate toward us.

Shouldn’t we be compassionate toward others? Pray for eyes to see opportunities to show compassion to others.

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about the

Author

Brenda Beattie

Brenda Beattie is a retired letter carrier and an active Chaplain for the USPS. She and her husband retired to Bradenton because they loved their church, Bayside Community Church. She has self-published two books, "Finding Sacred Ground In The Daily Grind," and "The Case Of The Missing Letter." She is also a repeat author for "Chicken Soup For The Soul." Her articles appear monthly in the "Mountaineer," a postal publication. Her hearts desire is to encourage and to give hope.