Empathy

"Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."  -Hebrews 13:3

In today's Our Daily Bread David McCasland shares how Wall Street Journal correspondent Geoffrey Fowler put on an "Age Suit [which was] designed to help caregivers better understand their patients" in order to write an article about it.  He wrote, "The unforgettable, and at times distressing, experience shed light not just on aging, but also how virtual reality equipment can teach empathy and shape our perceptions of the world around us."  I did not need to wear virtual reality equipment in 1978 when I signed up to visit an elderly woman in a nursing home.  I think I was born an old soul because I've always been drawn to the elderly, empathizing with their time in life.  I visited Mrs. Smith for 5 years before her death at age 81.  During that time my first two sons were born and they were a great delight to her.  Her only child had died young from meningitis, then her husband and mother passed soon afterwards.  She had no relatives to visit her so she had been assigned a visitor--me!  I can tell you she was as much a blessing to me as I was to her.

McCasland reminds us, "This is exactly what our Savior has done for us.  Jesus was made like us, 'fully human in every way...that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

I am grateful that I have a Savior who can empathize with my human frailties.