Advent Day 17

Tuesday, December 17th

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

—Ezekiel 36:26 (NLT)

We may not realize how calloused our hearts have become until we meet someone who softens us. I have an old friend who has made countless trips to the hospital. It felt like she was treated as a number. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar. Pain being dismissed. Discharged with little answers or solutions. Feeling alone in your illness or grief. But this time was

different. She met a nurse who thumbed through her thick charts. And with just a few words, she restored her dignity.

“What they did to you was absolutely wrong,” she acknowledged. “I just want you to know, on behalf of all of us, I’m truly sorry.”

For years, she needed acknowledgment of her pain and justification that what she went through wasn’t fair. And here were the three words she had been waiting for: “I am sorry.” Isn’t it lovely how we can return the gift

of dignity to one another? Slowly, we may find hearts melting with mercy and love.

O God, what is the condition of my heart right now? Is it full of joy and love? Is it guarded and protected? Is it beaten up and bruised? How would it feel to hear someone say, “I am sorry that happened to you. It wasn’t right”? How would words of compassion and kindness restore my heart! O God, let me have those words of compassion for hurting souls You place in my path so that I might restore their dignity. Amen