“ Praise be to…the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the
comfort we ourselves have received from God.”
2 Cor. 1:3-4 (NIV84)
A few years ago Paul and I were enjoying Glacier National Park for an anniversary trip. We decided to elevate our vacation by running up to Waterton Park just over the border in Alberta, Canada for a few days. It was fantastic, and we would highly recommend it if you ever get the chance to head up there.
Fortunately, we had brought our passports and were met by a border crossing agent with personality — which was a plus! She noted that we had very few stamps in our passports and seemed genuinely pleased to add to our meager assortment.
Truth be told, I have always wanted to be that person with an abundance of stamps in my passport. You know, it sort of validates a girl to show how many countries you’ve been to. But the Lord hasn’t really made me that kind of person. But He has been making a different kind of person with a different abundance of stamps that is actually much more useful.
One fine October morning this fall, while I was walking laps around the St. Luke's Hospital campus, waiting for my surgery check-in, the Lord spoke to me about abundance of a different type. He ministered to me that He had actually been adding stamps — not in my passport, but in my Catalog of Empathy. It was being filled up like the S&H green stamp books of old.
Empathy stamps help us relate to others' difficulties, and comfort others in their difficulties, like our theme verse states. We become so much more effective because we have experienced similar difficulties ourselves and have received comfort from the Lord. We know the path.
Cancer, chemo, surgery, radiation, neuropathy, those are some of my stamps that were added in 2024 in my Catalog of Empathy. I had never aspired to any of those stamps, I had only been focused on stamps from interesting countries. But, at the end of the day, it’s so easy to see how much more useful these empathy stamps are, both in my own life and my usefulness to others.
Maybe you’ve collected a bunch of stamps in your Catalog of Empathy this past year. Maybe you didn’t aspire to them either, but I hope you might now understand how valuable they were. Maybe you need to pull out your catalog and peruse all of those stamps and ask God how He wants to use them in your life. I promise you, they are more valuable than your full passport.
My update is that after today I only have seven radiation treatments left. Once again, I’m feeling great and looking forward to all the Christmas festivities that we enjoy. Be watching for a big announcement with next week’s Wednesday Word.
My Love & Blessings,
Sue