From The Principal
Changing the world – One compassionate heart at a time!
One of the most impactful ways we can share God’s heart with others is by living compassionately. To show compassion is to step outside of yourself and love another in times of weakness. To live compassionately is to position your heart continually toward giving grace and love to those who need it most.
Very little stirs my heart to God more than compassion. When someone sees me at my worst and chooses to love me rather than cast me aside, my affection for them and God is automatically lifted. Often the world is too busy or self-focused to show compassion. We get too caught up in our plans, our needs, and our image to see the hurting and share God’s heart.
But God is calling us to a life lived humbly. Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” The world is in desperate need of compassion. People need mercy and grace when they fail, show weakness, or are experiencing hard times. God’s heart is to use us that we might show mercy and grace as a reflection of his unconditional love. He’s calling us to be light in the darkness that the world might see in us the compassionate heart of our heavenly Father.
It’s for this reason, Paul writes in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” You can forgive because you’ve been forgiven. You can be kind because your Father has been nothing but kind to you. And you can be tender-hearted because God was so tender in heart toward you. He was so compassionate that he gave his life to free you, empower you, strengthen you, and ground you in his grace and love.
Take time in guided prayer to receive a fresh revelation of God’s kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness. Open your heart and let him transform you to be more like him. Allow his heart to become your own. And live today in response to God’s love by showing compassion to others that they might know the tenderness and mercy of your heavenly Father.
It’s for this reason, Paul writes in Ephesians 4:32, “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” You can forgive because you’ve been forgiven. You can be kind because your Father has been nothing but kind to you. And you can be tender-hearted because God was so tender in heart toward you. He was so compassionate that he gave his life to free you, empower you, strengthen you, and ground you in his grace and love.
Take time in guided prayer to receive a fresh revelation of God’s kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness. Open your heart and let him transform you to be more like him. Allow his heart to become your own. And live today in response to God’s love by showing compassion to others that they might know the tenderness and mercy of your heavenly Father.
Helping Students Cope
Resilience in the face of adversity isn’t a fixed personality trait. Resilience is an ability we can help our students build. This is an important fact for children who suffer from a serious illness or experience a grievous loss or setback.
What are the best ways that parents can support their child to be more resilient?
- Tell them they are loved and are not alone.Children need to hear this over and over again.
Show them that they matter. This is the question children ask as they grow up: Do I make a difference to others? Do other people notice me, care about me and rely on me? When young people think that they don’t matter, they’re more likely to engage in self-destructive and antisocial activities, or simply withdraw.
- Parents and other adults can make a difference simply by walking alongside troubled children and listening with undivided attention, forming warm relationships, communicating openly, and allowing children to talk about their thoughts and fears. It is not about solving them problems for them, but about talking through their problems with them, so that they can come up with solutions and have the courage to give it a go.
- Discuss coping mechanisms.These can include understanding that:
- It’s okay to be sad and take a break from any activity and cry.
- It’s okay to be happy and laugh.
- It’s okay to be angry and jealous of friends and relatives who are not suffering.
- It’s okay to say to anyone that we do not want to talk about it now.
- It’s okay to ask for help.
- Establish positive rituals.This could be something like a family dinnertime practice of each person sharing the best and worst moments of the day – the things that made them sad and those that made them grateful.
- Embrace family history.Having a sense of their roots builds children’s sense of mattering, of being connected to something larger than themselves. This includes knowing where their parents and grandparents grew up, what their childhoods were like and how the family fared in good times and bad.
- Keep memories alive.Remembering a loved one who has been lost builds mental health and even physical health over time.
Acknowledgement: “How to Build Resilient Kids, Even After a Loss” by Sheryl Sandberg in The New York Times, April 24, 2017
