Once upon a time …

… there was a young Karen who trained to become a nurse. This was followed by a short period of ward work in vascular surgery before she changed sides and worked for some time as a medical assistant in a rural family practice. And this is not a fairy tale, even though the story began with “once upon a time.” All of this is part of my biography.

Yesterday, I spoke to my adult son on the phone. He had been to the doctor that day, and so the conversation turned to the sometimes thankless task of medical assistants. “Did you know that I used to work as a medical assistant?” I asked. “I know you trained as a nurse, but medical assistant—I didn’t know that,” was his reply.

That got me thinking. My life has been filled with countless small and large milestones. So many experiences, so many beautiful moments, so much pain. And all of that, the entire collection of these events, has shaped me. They are part of my personality in some way. When I talk to others, even in my actions, these memories and experiences somehow resonate in the background, even if I am not aware of it. But … the person I’m talking to doesn’t know that. They don’t know everything I’ve experienced in my life. Not even my son, who lived in my immediate presence for many years, knew about this small aspect of my life as a “medical assistant.”

Now you could say that this is unimportant. The other person doesn’t really need to know, and of course that’s true in a way. But I believe that sometimes it can be helpful to know what the person I’m talking to has been through. Because it allows me to see them in a different light: with admiration, compassion, and mercy, for instance.

Take, for example, the lady you meet while walking your dog Benno. You greet her warmly, but she gives you and your dog a wide berth and eyes your wonderful furry friend with fearful, suspicious eyes. Yet Benno is a very sweet dog. Now you can shake your head at such fearfulness. But if you knew that years ago, this lady was so badly injured by a dog that she had to be hospitalized and suffered a lot of pain, you would treat her with more compassion.

There are countless examples of how a little knowledge about someone’s history can help us treat them with more understanding or even admiration.

Now, we can’t exactly ask the cashier who is rude to us about her life story, but perhaps we can give her a “blank check of compassion” and simply assume from the outset that she may be having a bad day or struggling with other difficulties.

It would certainly make the world a more compassionate place.

Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:36 ©GNTD