We acknowledge that God is expanding our hearts to hold compassion. Our hearts are often filled with pity, including self-pity, which corrupts our intentions. This pity, even when directed at others, is tainted with pride and arrogance. Only in our quiet moments with God do we truly see the flawed nature of our pity and its origins. God is replacing this with genuine compassion: the understanding that our lives and needs are interconnected. While we resist this change, desiring comfort and fixed boundaries, God persists. Compassion connects us deeply, allowing us to share joys and sorrows, and to see others as whole, complex beings.
May God continue to expand our hearts to hold true compassion, replacing our flawed pity with a deep understanding of our shared humanity.
(inspired by: Howard Thurman, Meditations of the Heart; Nadia Bolz-Weber, Humans Are Inconveniently Complex)