When Compassions Fail Not

When Compassions Fail Not Lamentations 3:22-23

written by Patricia Ann 

Lamentations 3:22-23  It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning:. Great is thy faithfulness.

The real, true love of God shines through His people in compassion, genuine caring and understanding.

It is a God thing that comes from living with a true relationship God heart. 

This is my recent grocery store encounter that touched my heart.

I stopped at my local grocery store to pick up a couple of items for my mom. Like many other people, since the pandemic, my mom quit doing things out of fear of becoming ill and getting out to buy groceries is one thing that she stopped doing.  I have been picking up her groceries and delivering them to her. It truly blesses me to help my parents during tis time. 

When I entered the store I got my usual, "Hi, how are you?" from the store owner.  I grabbed my items and finished paying for the purchase when the owner came up to me wanting to talk about "something".  "Sure"  I said.  "No problem." or so I thought as she proceeded to walk me out of the store telling me there was a "problem" with the way my mother ordered her groceries.  She let me know that (in her words) she hated to "look a gift horse in the mouth", but my mom just took too long placing her grocery order and she wanted me to address this with my mom, once again stressing that she hoped she wasn't "looking that gift horse in the mouth."  

I was kind, explaining that the pandemic had left my mom with anxiety and I was sure she was doing her best placing her order and that I would just get her order from her now on and get her groceries for her. 

All is well then.  Right?

Well, not really, as a compassion for my mother welled up inside of me and I remembered many years earlier the day that I took  phone order from a man who had only one-half of his tongue.  He was hard to understand and the order was lengthy and time consuming because of his condition ( dare I not call it a handicap) as the call with him blessed me that day.  I had compassion, kindness and understanding while assisting this man with his order.  He kept apologizing for taking so long, but I just understood from my heart of hearts that he was my appointment and I had the opportunity to share God's love or choose a lesser than kind, selfish approach to the length of time it took to place the order.

I also remembered that I was the one wo had encouraged my mom to shop local at this store, even though the prices were higher.  I thought of the amount of dollars that my mom and myself spent every month at the store and the selfish lack of compassion or appreciation of the store owner towards us, as customers.  A righteous response welled up inside of me as I later went back to talk with the owner and tell her that we wouldn't be shopping there again. 

Her response--"I had misunderstood her intentions."

My response--"No."  She was misunderstanding.

My mother was her customer, not a "gift horse!" and regardless of the time it took to place a large grocery order of several hundred dollars, the lack of compassion and the selfishness of her own "time restraints" showed her lack of concern for her elderly customer, who once pre-pandemic shopped in the store on a regular basis. 

I didn't misunderstand.  I saw through her fake "Hi, how are you's" and her ha ha jokes that were the norm.

I saw the true coldness of her heart, a heart sold out to the almighty dollar - to her own success.  

And having worked in stores myself, I have ever thought of customers as "gift horses", but as brothers and sisters in Christ.  People with limitations or anxiety or even one-half of a tongue are still created by God for a purpose and a time and a place.  

Jesus loves us the Most, regardless of our physical condition and He seeks us in our spiritual condition to draw us closer to Himself. 

His compassions fail Not. 

Lamentations 3:22-23  It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning:. Great is thy faithfulness.

My prayer for today... '''May we be a light in someone's life, taking the time to show love, care and encourage, lifting one another up in prayer.  May we show compassion and understanding for those who struggle choosing to be a blessing and not a hindrance.  May we choose to be an answer to a problem and not part of the problem.  I pray that we make someone's day by walking out our love for Christ, as in His footsteps and not our own.  

May we never see another person as a "gift horse" for our own gain, but as a gift from God for His glory.  

Love and Blessings to All, Amen.

The real, true love of God shines through His people in compassion, genuine caring and understanding.

It is a God thing that comes from living with a true relationship God heart. 

This is my recent grocery store encounter that touched my heart.