The Crushed Grape

The pastor in his sermon this morning was talking about crushed grapes, which are used to make wine.  He was using that as a metaphor for how life’s blows can make us better people.  He also talked about how God can heal us in the midst of our brokenness.

I have thought about life’s blows that I have experienced.  Some of them were my fault.  Some of them, not so much.  Life’s blows have made me more compassionate than I would be otherwise.  They have made me sensitive to issues that otherwise would not cross my radar.  They have purified me of certain character flaws, or at least they have made me aware of them and the importance of addressing them.

But at what cost?  I have to admit: when it comes to certain experiences, part of me feels as if I would have been better off not experiencing them.

A struggle that I have is this: I may have all this compassion inside of me, but what use is that to anyone else?  So I have compassion for people in certain situations.  Whoop-dee-doo!  I am not always in a position to help people who are in those situations.

But who knows what opportunities God can provide.  That compassion may come in handy some day, for someone.