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I Kicked My Toe... Don't Laugh

6th February 2009

I am going to start this blog with a little story...

I woke up early in a daze. The sun had not been up for long and I was certainly not ready to get up. I told my body that it had no choice - it needed to get up. My body promptly told me to shut up. It was tired and not going anywhere. I told myself I could just close my eyes for a few more minutes and then get up. I convinced myself that I could control it. 30 mins later I woke up looking at the alarm clock realising I was late. "Right", I told my self, "shower, piece of toast and run". I got up - focused. I knew all I had to do was make it to the bathroom and I would be back on schedule. I got out of bed and walked like a man on a mission until... the flippin corner of my bed got in the way of my toe. That's right you know the one, your little toe... It hurt sooo much. I thought to my self, "Why is it that when one of the smallest parts of your body is hurt it can turn my whole body inside out?" I was spinning in circles, hopping on one foot and punching the air while biting my lip all because I kicked my little toe. But the more important question is: If I was in that much pain why did my wife find it so hilarious?

I have often said that I find it absolutely hilarious watching other people kick their toe, but when it happens to me I wonder why nobody cares. "Where is the compassion?" I think to myself.

You know, it actually made me think about something much deeper this morning, which is why I am writing this blog. I was thinking about how we respond to other people's pain. I mean seriously think about it for a moment. There are dozens of people in our churches, for a start, who are going through serious pain physically, emotionally and spiritually and how do we respond? Do we even know that they are in pain? Or would we rather allow them to suffer quietly? While it is usually true that we wouldn't intentionally want to allow other people to suffer I wonder if not bothering to ask or truly find out is just as bad.

I am not sure what your church is like or what your work/school situation is like but when you see other people and you ask them "how are you going?" Do you really want to know the answer to that? What would our world look like if we took the time to actually listen to people share about their suffering? Of late I have been inundated with stories of people's pain and their daily struggles. I am finding that people are desperate to share their stories with anyone who will take the time to listen. I wonder what your church would be like if you found just one person a week to sit down with and listen to their story. Or even one person a week in your school/workplace or wherever. The point is as Christ followers we are supposed to share each others burdens. Life wasn't meant to be done alone! In fact, if you are reading this and you feel alone in your suffering and that no one cares than know that I care and would love to hear your story. Your pain, your story is real, it's vital that we share this journey together.

Also if you are reading this and you have ever kicked your toe I would love to hear your story. In fact I think we can muster up some sought of prize for the best kicked toe story ever. You can log you entry on the MORE facebook group by clicking here. I don't know, maybe we can give you a free shirt (I can't back this up). If you are wanting to share your stories, you can also email me at more.team@aue.salvationarmy.org

Till next time,

Simeon Hoffmann.