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"Having carried a burden has made my able to empathize with other’s pain." Listen to Steve Demme's podcast.

Podcast 59: Bear, Don’t Repair

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“Bear One Another’s Burden and so Fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

     Having carried a burden has made my able to empathize with other’s pain. I am able to tune in to what people are feeling more than ever. My own issues have helped me to understand what my brothers and sisters are experiencing in a new way. I observe pain everywhere. When I see people in some form of addiction I don’t see the outward behavior as much as I am cognizant of internal pain and suffering. People do not hurt and abuse themselves for pleasure, there are reasons behind their actions. I am convinced that I may engage in the same behaviors if I had walked in their shoes and grown up in their circumstances. Addiction has many forms, society condemns some (drugs, alcohol, pornography) and rewards others (greed, power, success). But heartache and pain are often the reason why we do what we do. No one likes to hurt.

     I find myself connecting with people in a deeper way because the one thing we all have in common is suffering. Whether we are battling our own issues, or bearing the burden of someone close to us that we care for, we all need encouragement and support. When I reached out to those 32 friends for help and bared my heart and asked for help, it freed them up to also share their own hurts and griefs. We were connecting at a heart level and bearing each other’s burdens in a healthy godly way. Bearing each other’s burdens and weeping with those who weep is Christianity at it’s best.
 

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