“Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.” (Luke 6:36)
Last week I (Natasha) had the amazing opportunity to serve at Union Gospel Mission in New Westminster with some of our youth and young adults (and one mom).
I thought this week was going to be about extending compassion to those less fortunate than me. Which it was. We got up early. We served breakfast. We wiped tables. We chatted with the guests. We lead chapel. We mopped floors. We served from our hearts and with our hands and feet. You could say we hung out with people Jesus would have hung out with.
But what I didn’t anticipate was how much I would learn about true, real compassion.
Let me tell you about Dan and Laurie.
When I first sat down next to them after breakfast, I assumed they were a couple. Until I heard their story. Dan found Laurie some fourteen years ago when she had nearly hit rock bottom due to a crystal meth addiction. Well Dan took it upon himself to help her out, and within a few years she was clean, off the streets, and in a much better place. In Laurie’s words, Dan saved her – three times. I don’t know what the journey looked like, but I imagine it was a bumpy one. And now they’ve been roommates for about seven years. Laurie can’t work because of a disability, so Dan takes care of the shopping and getting her out of the house as often as he can (they are regulars at UGM breakfast). Laurie can’t move around too easily, and has difficulty breathing, which means there is a lot in life that is difficult for her. Dan is there for her and willingly cares for her, extending what I see as REAL compassion. He has no other motive, other than to extend love and compassion to someone who needs it.
Wow.
This blew me away.
In my journal that afternoon I wrote this: Compassion is putting yourself aside and focusing on the other person. It’s not about you. Today as we served food, cleaned tables, and sat with people, our conversations were primarily all about them.
It was relatively easy for our team to set aside a few hours each day for one week of our year to extend compassion to the individuals at UGM, but what does it look like to live a lifestyle of compassion? To extend the kind of compassion Jesus extended to us on the cross, and Dan extended to Laurie? To put others first – and put ourselves aside—on regular, daily basis? This is the question I’m challenged to think about as I move back in to my regular routine.
If you are interested in serving for one week of your summer next year as part of the Fleetwood team, please talk to Natasha! It is something you will not regret. Ages 16+ are welcome to volunteer.