Compassion Fatigue

By now fatigue has set in.

Do you remember what fatigue feels like?

Just get me away. We will do all that is necessary to escape fatigue. Our mind is tired. Our body is weary. Our soul is not at its best. But just when we think we have escaped, there it is again.

Jesus knew the physical aspect of fatigue. You see it in the moments he wanders away to pray. You see it in the boat when he is sleeping during the storm. To sleep during the storm, "It rained?" They must have looked at him strangely. Jesus did not allow fatigue to stop him from compassion, prayer, and yes, healing.

Tony Campolo tells a story of Mother Teresa I had never heard. It seems that in her later years of life, she had great problems with her feet. It became very painful for her to walk. The story is told that every time she would get a pair of shoes to fit her well to help her with her pain, she would give them away. She would meet a person with no shoes and readily give hers away. So she was left with the shoes that no one else wanted or even would wear.

There is a grave marker high in the Alps. The inscription reads, "He died climbing". He could have settled for less. Gone back down but continued upward.

When compassion fatigue sets in, climb. When you feel as though you can give no more. Give. When you have to choose comfort for yourself or for others, choose others. When you get tired of seeing the suffering of the world (like Haiti), FEEL the suffering.

When the day comes that my journey on this earth is done, my prayers is that one of the words used to describe me is "spent!" May I use up more than I ever dreamed of holding on. May my fatigue be because of the work of the Kingdom.

Pray for me as I pray for you.

In the Master's Name,
Dr. M. Jack O'Dell

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