COMPASSION

def: sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

Compassion is such an important element of healing. It's not just about showing compassion to others, but also showing compassion to ourselves. After all, if we are not compassionate to ourselves how can we begin to fathom true compassion to others? Scripture tells us "...love others as yourself". You have to love self before you can love others. Perhaps this is where the disconnect begins - we are void of self-compassion and therefore do not know how to show compassion outwardly.

When you're going through something tough, tell this to yourself.
Tell it to others
as well.

What are some areas where you need to show yourself some compassion? You may not be quite ready to do this across the board, but you can start somewhere.

• Appreciate yourself as a human being - flaws and all, you have value and purpose
  
• Understand your feelings - this means you will need to spend some time intentionally listening and analyzing your emotions
  
• Communicate understanding to yourself - acknowledge your struggles, your hurts, your unrealized expectations; then work to set down the weight you've been carrying
  

If there is habitual sin struggle happening, seek prayerful support from trusted friends. Set up accountability steps to help you manage, mitigate, and turn from the triggers. It is a process and we are all in it, my friend. Grace over it all.