I am ashamed to admit that I sometimes forget why I chose to do this
I forget what it feels like to be scared
To hurt
To lose someone dear to me
To wait... for what seems like hours
I forget what it feels like to feel how they feel
What do they call that?
Empathy?
I have been struggling with this lately...
I know I am not the only one,
as people have actually coined this "Compassion Fatigue"
What a horrible reality: people get tired of having compassion for others
The more I think about it
the more I realize
I lose compassion and patience
when I lose my vision
Why did I want to help people in the first place?
To tangibly show the love of Christ through me
...I really don't think LOVE is spewing from me when I want to put a pillow over someone's face
(jk, that thought would never cross my mind...)
I'm currently reading the book "Crazy love" and I came across this passage this morning based on Matthew 25:
"Jesus is saying that we show tangible love for God in how we care for the poor and those who are suffering. He expects us to treat the poor and the desperate as if they were Christ Himself."
I know that not everyone who walks into the ER is going to be "suffering"
and not everyone is "poor" (especially where I live)
But there is a large majority of people that fall under the category of maybe
-scared
-anxious
-hurting
-desperate
I realize that it is not my job to give false hope and say "We are going to make it all better"
but maybe they DO need me to hold their hand
to let them know that I will do my best to take care of them
to let them know that I CARE
Something very valuable is lost when people,
who are in the business of caring for others,
don't care anymore.
I don't want to be one of those people
