They sat sobbing on the steps of Greg Hall. My heart swelled with compassion-- just not enough to stop. Besides, I was already late to Arabic class. My mind swam with questions wondering why these two girls were so broken... why were they crying? My pace slowed until I couldn't bring myself to put one leg in front of the other. I had to go back.
I had to.
And do what? I wasn't sure... they probably wouldn't want to talk, I tried to convince myself to just keep going. But I couldn't. Before I knew it, I was walking away from Arabic class toward these two girls. I came up to them and simply asked, "Hi guys. Is there anything I can do for you? Can I help in anyway?" They shook their heads and burst into a new set of tears.
I set my backpack down and sat on the steps with them. The tears flowed from a pained heart-- a raw heart.
"Our friend from home just died... brain damage... car accident..."
I sucked in a breath and placed my hand on her back. At my touch, a fresh round of tears erupted. I sat with them... mostly in quiet... at times responding to their comments. Not sure how long it was... could have been minutes, could have been a quarter of an hour, they stood up and said they were going to head back home.
In between sobs they thanked me and turned to leave.
My heart twisted inside. I wish I could have done something... they were on my heart all day and I couldn't get them out of my mind.
I turned and headed toward Arabic class.
Oh Vivi... your heart for people is so beautiful. This week in our Bible class we were talking about spiritual gifts and analyzing which gifts we have... All I could think was, "Viv has the gift of mercy." You love people so well and you feel for people so much. It is such a wonderful thing that God has given you. I absolutely LOVE reading about your experiences at U of I because I know that despite the challenges and hardships, you are becoming more like Christ every second of every day. That makes it all worth it. I'm praying so hard for you and missing you every day. Give the quad a "hug" for me! :)
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