Comfort, comfort my people

When I first hear the word “comforter” – I think of the “blanket” I like to snuggle up with when I’m feeling poorly – physically or emotionally. Yeah, like a little kid… all warm and cozy. Comfortable. Safe. A place where you can just  BE. You don’t have to be happy-go-lucky. You just snuggle down and can even pull the blanket over your head. It’s acceptable. The sign is out: I’m not feeling good.

There’s another use of the word “comforter” that really isn’t that much different.

I was with a small group of trusted friends, and shared something I was challenged, struggling, troubled by – and I looked around and saw several heads nodding in agreement. And they had insightful comments. They could relate. They knew what I was experiencing. They had been there. They were beside me. I was being heard. And understood. What a beautiful, beautiful gift. Not feeling “good” and being accepted. Safe.

You’d be hard-pressed nowdays, to find someone whose life has not been touched by the trauma of cancer. But back in the early days of its discovery, can you imagine the fear – and the loneliness – of having to experience that without someone else coming along side and saying “I know…” ? And even when you aren’t quite sure what to say, it is very supportive to reflect back the emotion you hear in that person’s voice: “You sound frustrated”, “It sounds like a very anxious time”, “You sound tired of all the added pressure”. Whether it’s a small group discussion, or an AA meeting, or a cancer support group, or mothers of toddlers group, or a grief support … there is comfort in knowing someone else, on some level, has suffered as you are now. And understands.

We often wonder why we have to suffer. Well, just think of a time when you were suffering and found someone nodding their head in compassion and understanding. What a beautiful, beautiful gift, right?

 Paul, in the second letter to the Corinthians tells us about God being 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 Corin.1:3-4). God. I wrote a note to myself in the margin of my bible: if you don’t need big, and don’t ask big… then you don’t need divine intervention. God is still the answer. And we comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.

·        Praying right along with you through this situation

·        God will see you through. I am here for you too!

·        Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.