Compassion

What happened at church today reminded me to stop and to have compassion for people, no matter how small the gesture is. A lady at church reminded me of this today. But, it wasn't what she did for me. Rather, what she didn't do.

Neil had to work late, so I went church this evening for Ash Wednesday with Sammy since Neil went downtown on his lunch break. I showed up to church and there was a billion people trying to park. It was the most people I've ever seen at church. Finding a parking spot was impossible. I finally had to park at the furthest spot we've had to park at to date. Which, in turn, that means it was the longest walk to date to church. I started my trek toward the church among the mass of people with a diaper bag on my left hip, Sammy on the right, and my 6 month pregnant belly in between. He gets so heavy after a while, and I was so hoping I would have a seat to sit down to relieve the heaviness.

I walked into the church and couldn't believe the sea of people standing in the back, not as if I was too surprised. I made my way through the crowd and noticed an usher at the front of the church holding up one finger, signifying there was a spot for one person. I looked around, certain that of the crowd of people in the back, someone would snatch up that spot. Nobody moved. So, as he held up his finger again, I briskly walked through the wall of people and made my way to the front of the church. I couldn't help but feeling like the boat captain on the movie Titanic. You know, the one that left behind all the passengers as he took his place on the rescue boat? I just couldn't pass up an opportunity for a seat, seeing as how Sammy's 21 pounds gets quite heavy after a little while, much left mass lasting an hour and 20 minutes. If no one took the spot when offered, I don't know why I was feeling so guilty. Anyways, I digress.

As I made my way to the front of a packed church, I arrived to the pew to see the usher standing at the end and pointing to the seat. There were two ladies staunchly sitting at the end of the pew with the empty spot being beside them. Let's review; I have a huge diaper bag on my left hip, Sammy on my right hip, and a 6 month belly in between. One, if not two people, would get bumped in the head one way or another with me trying to get in. I figured maybe when they see how full my hands were, they  would give up their end seat and simply move over. Wrong. They stared at me blankly, as if to say, "Well...?"

I took a step with my left foot and realized I was going to hit the person in the pew in front with my bag. If I tried with my right, I'd fall simply trying to get over these two women holding Sammy. And still, they stared blankly at me. I finally, in somewhat of a blatant huff, asked the obvious, "Could I just sit on the end?" The lady paused, completely and slowly rolled her eyes, and then they scooted down. I couldn't believe it. I figured surely anyone seeing someone with such full hands would offer to help. I appreciate the usher, probably uncomfortably watching the ladies parked in their seat, for offering me a hand with the bag. As I sat there, in my 5 inches of room on the pew, it took me a while to get over what the ladies just did. It made me realize too how it's so important to give others compassion and to offer our help. I spent the beginning of the mass thinking about this and the rest wrestling with Sammy. He was both fired up and in cramped quarters and tried to get everything; the African woman's headpiece in front of us, the rolling-eyed lady's Coach purse, along with trying to get down to wander around when he wasn't slapping my necklace or unknowingly trying to pull down my shirt.

What was both comic relief, as well as embarrassing moments, was when Sammy started to play with my necklace, which is my Saint Gerard medal. He begins to play with it and then starts to slap it. So, I grab his hands to stop and it makes him laugh. I let go, since he's laughing in church, and he starts slapping it again. Of course, I grab his hands to stop slapping which makes him laugh. I laugh. Then, he laughs again. Here we go. We have the giggles now. It was quite a day in church. Between the laughs, slapping my necklace, pulling down my shirt, and clapping and smiling as people walked near us, I was quite exhausted when I came home. Then, to top off the evening, leaving the parking lot was an adventure. Not only were we not budging because of traffic, Sammy screamed (I repeat, screamed) the entire way home. Which, is not like him. It later turns out he was just really hungry. I got home and was so relieved to see Neil making his way out of the house to the car before I even had it in park. He took Sammy and as we walked in the house, I see a nice glass of ice water waiting for me on the coffee table. You are the best, my love.

From this evening, I actually learned a little more about compassion. I realized how important it is to do things for people, even if it means doing small things like giving up your end spot at the pew or letting people into your lane (which in a big city, for some reason, is a really difficult thing to do!). I appreciate my husband's moment of compassion by walking out to the car and making me a glass of water. We must all take a second of our days to do something for others, especially if the occasion arises. After all, isn't compassion what our Lord offers us every minute of every day? I learned something from my very eventful evening. Opportunities to offer help and compassion are everywhere.