While talking to an acquaintance last night, the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask her “How’s your heart?” It took a moment for her to search her heart and then she went on to tell me a story of a dear friend of hers, who’s husband died 6 years ago in law enforcement, which in turn caused her to shut down, start drinking to numb the pain and give up on life. She was at that very moment on life support and the family was about to pull the plug. She then began to tell me how she felt like she failed her friend and all the blame and responsibility she was taking upon herself.
This short conversation turned into a God moment where I was able to be a friend, listen to the pain and offer some encouragement. I learned a valuable lesson in that moment, that we need to stop just asking someone “how are you,” not even really caring what the reply is, but instead ask them what’s going on in their heart!
They will begin to share their, thoughts, experiences and feelings, which in turn gives us an opportunity to minister God’s love through words of encouragement, prayer and even, hugs and tears! They will really feel like we care!