The Woman of Compassion

“I just came by to see how your father is doing.”

- A woman of compassion

The Woman of Compassion

A second call was beeping in.  Since it was my sister calling I gracefully told the person I was already speaking with that I needed to call them back.   You see, my sister was calling to give me an update on my father’s health.

At Christmas time he was well and was living in assisted living, but since then things changed at a dramatic pace.  Now he was in a memory care facility and during the previous week he had quickly turned for the worse.  I heard my sister’s voice, “You had better make plans to come and visit.  They’re telling me he has less than a week.”  I drove up to see him twice over the next three days and it was there that I learned that compassion is not just something we feel, it is a skill to be developed.

As I sat talking to my unresponsive father, on my second visit, a woman from his congregation waked in and introduced herself.  She told me a little about her interaction with my father and others in her little flock and showed concern for me as well.  She was there to show love and to offer him encouragement.  I watched.

“Hi Paul, I just came by to see how you are and to let you know we missed you at our meeting on Sunday.  We want you to get well!”  She said as she walked over to the bed and took my father’s hand.  She spoke directly to him in a bright, gentle way, and something magical happened.  His face brightened, he opened his eyes and tried to speak.  They communicated in a way unknown to me before.

Words were spoken, but were not the fundamental means of communication between them.  There was something else, something tangible to be felt there, a result, a skill, a shared compassion beyond my understanding.

She didn’t stay long; but her impressionable compassion has lived on within my father and me.  You see, the next day my sister called me again to tell me that things had changed.  I was expecting the worst.  But, it wasn’t the worst; it was good.

“Dad got up and went to breakfast and lunch today.  He’s doing well.  He has turned a corner!”

Turned a corner?  I remembered the compassionate communication I had witnessed the day before and its warmth swiftly replenished my heart.  The woman of compassion had a healing effect on my father.  And, she taught me a lesson I’ll never forget.  If you and I can learn her skill of compassion we can change our world.