Compassion and Awareness Work Together

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“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”--Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)

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Thanks for reading!

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“Common Courtesy”: is it “common” anymore? Do we always treat each other with respect? Let’s say we don’t (which is true). It’s easy to selfishly criticize people, stretch the truth, and start rumors.

What about the fallout? It can be nuclear in some cases.

Brianna Arauz, the daughter of my good friend, Melissa Arauz, was recently injured in a hit-and-run accident.  It’s the nightmare of every parent. The sympathetic mother shared what she learned from the situation on Facebook. Her thoughts can be divided into four categories:

• We reap what we sow. Split-second decisions bring consequences, too. Everyone needs to make wise choices.
• God protects us. Some trials are minimized through His intervention.
• Our assumptions about people can be wrong. Appearances can also be deceiving. A certain person may seem to be fine, but they’re really hurting inside.
• Every life matters. We should choose to care about everyone.

Melissa gave me permission to copy and paste the Facebook post. Please read her words below:

Brianna was hit by a car riding her bike home last week. She is ok. The car was at a stop sign, Brianna thought it was yielding as she was coming through... instead as Brianna entered the crosswalk it hit her directly, briefly stopped as Brianna continued moving out of the way. The car drove off without even asking her if she was ok. A lady walking into work saw the accident, filmed the car driving away... got upset with that driver who had just left ... called the police and the emt came too. Ended up taking Brianna in for X-rays because her leg was hurting her so bad... nothing broken. Just abrasion, swelling and bruising. Police would call later that day and the driver was caught, arrested let go on a 10,000 bond, charged with a felony hit and run and Brianna and Adelaide go to court this next month. The entire accident was caught on store camera and the policeman came to our home to show it to me a couple days ago. Where it’s clearly seen the car made contact with Brianna. And after seeing that video... angels protected her in that moment... no doubt about it. It could’ve been so much worse and I’m surprised it wasn’t. As crazy as it sounds... she was being protected. This is now my point in sharing.

When the policeman told me the person’s story he said how they told him that they had heard the thump, saw her wobbling on the bike, but when they saw Brianna move out of the way they assumed she was ok. They didn’t stop to ask her (the car behind them did though because they saw Brianna sit and sob at the sidewalk. The car that hit her, that driver was busy and had to be to work at 8 (it was around 7:54am))

I feel lately with some of the people Brianna comes in contact with as she’s simply going through life, whether unintentional or intentional they hit her and cause harm... but because she moves out of the way they assume she’s just fine and so they continue on their way not thinking of the harm they caused. And this has caused me to consider... am I like that in my life? Do I pay attention? And do I care, like really care for those who are around me? Do I take the time to recognize that every day we interact with various people and sometimes, especially being in such a fast paced environment maybe we see them as non existent or not as important. So my goal and encouragement to everyone is this week, take the time to be aware of those who are around you and also... choose to care. People matter. And just because you may think someone is ok or should be just fine doesn’t mean that they are. They might get out of your way so that they aren’t further harmed, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t hurt from what already happened. Take responsibility, even when it may be unintentional... it still hurt.

My Conclusion

"Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous."--1 Peter 3:8 (KJV)

Is your behavior responsible and compassionate?