When Our Hard Seasons Make Us Better Encouragers

Inside: God comforts us in our troubles, which prepares us to reach out to other struggling people with the compassion and understanding that they need. ~

When I’m working on an editing project, I keep an eye out for overused words. Repetition sometimes works well for dramatic effect, but it’s usually better to eliminate words or phrases that appear more than once or twice in a paragraph.

Fortunately, though, the Apostle Paul wasn’t fixated on editing rules when he wrote the first chapter of 2 Corinthians. In the space of six sentences, he used some variation of the word comfort no less than nine times, including four mentions in these familiar verses:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

The Comfort Cycle

Theologians may have more sophisticated terminology for describing this process, but I like to call it the comfort cycle. And it’s pretty efficient, if you ask me. God comforts us in our troubles so we can later comfort other people with same kind of comfort that He first bestowed on us.

I’m so thankful for people I’ve known during different seasons of my life who shared encouragement that can only come from someone who has “been there.” Through infertility, job transitions, hormonal upheaval, loved ones’ health problems, parent loss and more, I don’t know how I would have coped without the prayers and support of these empathetic friends.

Granted, not everyone jumps at the chance to do this. Understandably, some people prefer to protect themselves from the emotional stress that can flow from recalling personal struggles and heartaches. The vulnerability that accompanies sharing certain experiences can be scary. Sometimes the wounds are too deep or the hurt too fresh.

But when one person is willing to relive sadness or pain because she believes it might comfort another person, it’s a beautiful thing indeed.

Different Seasons, Different Responses

When my girls were younger, I remember hearing older moms say, “You couldn’t pay me enough to go back to those days.” Although this comment isn’t particularly helpful, I get it. Parenting toddlers can be exhausting in every possible way, and for some, it’s a relief to watch those years grow dim in the rearview mirror.

I noticed something different during my parents’ last years, however. I had a few friends whose elderly parents suffered from Alzheimer’s disease before they died, and not once did any of these friends ever express any sort of gratefulness about being done with this difficult season.

The truth is, there’s something incredibly poignant about watching a parent near the end of his or her life in such a heartrending way. It’s hard and lonely and sad, but—as is the case with many life-changing trials—it’s often difficult to articulate any of that to someone who hasn’t been through it personally.

Divine Recycling Process

These dear ones gently offered encouragement, empathy and practical advice because they knew what it’s like. They probably would have given anything to be able to spend just a few more moments with their own loved ones, but because that wasn’t possible, they were willing to draw from their experiences to help me.

It’s been said that God never wastes a hurt. And when we reach out to hurting people who are right now where we once were, we get to participate in His divine recycling process.

And the comfort cycle continues.

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Have you ever been a participant in the comfort cycle, either as giver or receiver of care? Please share in the comments.

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No Post Here Next Week

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♥ Lois

P.S. I’m linking up this week with InstaEncouragements, Let’s Have Coffee and Grace & Truth.