Since I have a job where I’m sort of an on-campus mama to junior high and high school girls, people naturally assume that I deal with lots of crying on a weekly basis. Sometimes I guess that’s true—maybe during a week when there are lots of tests or students are feeling particularly stressed—but for the most part, I’ve noticed, teenage girls don’t cry about their own problems as often as people might think.
That’s not to say that teenage girls don’t cry. Of course they do. But what I’ve noticed—and what has surprised me a little bit—is that so many times when I’m talking with a girl who is emotional or crying, it’s because she’s feeling those things for someone else. She’s upset because a friend is having a hard time, or a parent is fighting a health-related battle, or she wishes she could take on a struggle that a younger sibling is facing.
In other words, the grief and the sorrow aren’t necessarily self-focused. Many times they’re other-focused. And although that doesn’t necessarily make it easy or pleasant for the person who is experiencing the sadness, there are a few reasons why I remind girls to be encouraged that the Lord is at work in the middle of the heartache and the tears, regardless of the cause:
It never gets easier to see friends and family members in physical or emotional pain, and it can be overwhelming to care for them as we hurt with them. However, the Lord is gracious to put us in situations where we can learn, grow, and mature. We’ll rarely be able to fix someone else’s problems, but we can most certainly be loving, compassionate friends.
1. Have you ever cried over someone else’s suffering? Explain.
2. Where would you say you rank on an empathy scale? Low, medium, or high? How do you know?
3. What are some ways the Lord has comforted you when you’ve gone through a hard time?
4. Look up Galatians 6:2. Write, illustrate, or doodle it here.
Today’s Prayer