Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Familial Empathy

Familial Empathy: noun. The feelings of sorrow, fear, or joy you experience by seeing other families going through times of hardship or happiness.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a woman named Ter whose husband had cancer. I haven't been to her blog for a while, and wanted to check in there to see how things were going. To my sadness, her husband passed a few days ago. I left her condolences and reminded her that she is in my prayers. Then I cried.

I'm not really sure why I cried. I've never met this woman or her husband, and though I've seen the photo of her on her blog, I doubt I would recognize her in the street. Yet, there is something about her story that touches us all. I suppose it is imagining what is going on in her life right now and how she is feeling that pulls my heart so much. How can we not feel for someone who is living our biggest fears?

For those of you who pray, please keep Ter and her family in your prayers. You can also read her blog here.

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