Mourn with those who Mourn

Compassion literally means “to suffer together”.

This month, this year- there is just so much suffering. It can be overwhelming at times heh? I don’t have all the answers- but I believe in my Creator who does.

There is a verse that says to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and to “mourn with those who mourn”). Some translations say “weep with those who weep”).

I live with this tension day by day. You?

-Someone’s healed, another is gravely ill.
-Justice is enacted- Justice is withheld.
- A nation prospers- another oppressed.
-One is celebrating, another is grieving.
-Facing tears, fears & joy all in one day.

😢This week, there’s been a whole lot of tears and more to come, that’s for sure.

I’ve been disturbed on many levels hearing the news of the 215 children’s remains found buried in unmarked graves in Kamloops BC. This school was one of the largest Indian Residential Schools here in Canada and these precious ones were among the over 4,100 children who died while in the system. There were over 130 schools of this kind operating in Canada between 1831-1996.

I’ve known about this dark part of Canada’s story by hearing first hand testimonies of residential school survivors in 2012 when the TRC hearings came through Saskatoon.

We must give space for mourning. We must offer compassion for those who are suffering losses or triggered with various traumas because of this finding. To weep- to mourn- to lament (and to offer compassion to those suffering) is necessary to move forward and find healing.

Compassion has many outflows. Our responses will be as unique as we are. We suffer together through expression, hearing the outcries, holding space. Some pray or have a moment of silence at home, events or at the many displays of 215 children’s shoes on various public spaces.
(Grateful for the acknowledgment at the WJOF gathering this month by Roberta Fiddler. )

Let’s acknowledge the truth, pray for healing & Justice to be realized, and honour the resilience and strength of survivors today. #everychildmatters🧡 “To mourn together is to heal together”.