Compassion

As I was praying for officers and APD this week, the value of compassion came to mind. I can only guess, but I would think it is hard not to become jaded in your job. People making bad choices over and over and then blaming others, or even blaming you, for where they find themselves. Once you lose a compassionate heart, it can be hard to find it again even for people who didn’t cause their own misery.
     
Two things struck me about this quote: 1) the thought that being compassionate can bring happiness to you and not just others. 2) the idea that compassion is a “practice”. Compassion is a choice to empathize with another’s situation and to take action to help.
     
I am thankful APD strives to be a compassionate organization...that compassion has been listed as one of your values. I have seen compassion in action. I remember during a ride along, a man initially appeared to be driving drunk, but it turned out he was suffering from diabetic complications. One officer waited while a friend of the family came to pick up the vehicle so it would not be towed, and the officer I was riding with took the man home, carried in his groceries and put them in the fridge. 
     
As I pray for you this week, I pray that you would not be jaded by the things you deal with, but that as you practice compassion it would bring happiness not only to others, but happiness (and peace) to you as well.
     
Your service is appreciated,
Pastor Rob