Did I Make Things Worse?

If I have ever spiritualized your suffering instead of empathising, forgive me.

If I have ever told you, “Oh well, it will make sense one day” when you tell me of incomprehensible pain, I am sorry.

If I have spoken at you instead of listening to you, I apologise.

If I have made up a silver lining around YOUR cloud of darkness, I was wrong.

I will sit with you, I will hear you, I will try imagine what it is like, and I will weep WITH you.

I will listen, hear, and feel your experience. I will not sermonise, spread false cheer and trivialise your here and now moment by moment anguish by making you look at a heavenly future that doesn’t undo your current agony. I will ask, I will not tell.

This is something many Christians do, and as one of them, I hope I never did it to you.