But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked the opportunity. Philippians 4:10
The need to be cared for is something innate. We all have a need to be loved. From the time we are babies and are cared for by our parents, we thrive when we have a sense of being nurtured. That doesn’t end just because we become adults. Even adults have a need for acceptance and nurturing. For those who are married, even though you may not think of nurturing your spouse or being nurtured by your spouse as a need, especially if you have children that you are nurturing, it IS, in fact, an innate need that we ALL have.
There are some people who have a hard time accepting kindnesses from others. We are so busy doing that we don’t easily allow others to do for us. While that is admirable for certain, don’t discount your need to be nurtured by others, and when someone offers a nurturing gesture, just say thank you and accept it.
At the same time, God made each of us with an innate ability to nurture others. To care for someone else is not a behavior we have to go out and acquire—it is naturally within us. On that note, human beings are innately good. Doing bad things is a learned behavior. If we leave “nature” to its course, we naturally incline to what is good. We naturally incline to God as well.
When the Lord tells us that we must love our neighbor as ourselves, this is not a daunting task, but rather should come easy to us. I suppose the challenge to this is that we are so “busy” and so absorbed with our own needs that we often “forget” about the needs of others.
Spending hours a day in front of the computer, listening to loud music, watching sports on TV—all of these things are learned behaviors, we are not born innately drawn to any of them. In your prayer time this week, think about one “optional” activity in your life that you could scale back on, and one “nurturing” activity that you could increase. This could be something as simple as cutting back on one hour of TV a MONTH and writing a letter or calling someone you haven’t spoken to in a while to let you know you haven’t forgotten them.
Practice being a nurturer today—be encouraging to those you meet, show empathy and compassion to those who need it—not only to your children, but to your spouse, your friends, you co-workers. We all need nurturing. And we all have the ability to nurture others.
In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, when we are “social distancing” we have to be especially keen of nurturing others. First, let us dismiss the term “social distancing”. It is “physical distancing” that we are doing. Socially, we should be holding one another close, through conversation, encouragement and prayer. We need nurturing more than ever. Emotional and social distance are the last things anyone needs. While we may not “see” one another face to face, at least in person, this is a good time to be creative. We can FaceTime or skype instead of just talking on the phone. We can be nurtured spiritually through our Divine Services, but we will have to watch them on a computer, and set up a worship space in our homes. We can all call others to check up on them. We can all do something for someone else. And we should all accept if someone wishes to do something for us. Make this season of uncertainty also a season of nurturing one another.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the way You created us. Thank You for giving us the emotional capacity to love others and to feel the love of others. Thank You for making these things a natural part of us. Help me to be more empathetic in my encounters today. Help me to show patience and compassion. Help me to recognize the opportunities to nurture others. Give me the humility to accept nurturing from others. Bless my family, my friends and everyone I will encounter today. Amen.
Prayer of Protection from the Coronavirus
(Prayer by Grace Bishop Alexis (Trader) of Bethesda)
O God Almighty, Lord of heaven and earth, and of all creation visible and invisible, in Your ineffable goodness, look down upon Your people gathered in Your name. Be our helper and defender in this day of affliction. You know our weakness. You hear our cry in repentance and contrition of heart. O Lord who loves mankind deliver us from the impending threat of the corona virus. Send Your Angel to watch over us and protect us. Grant health and recovery to those suffering from this virus. Guide the hands of physicians, and preserve those who are healthy that we may continue to serve You in peace and glorify Your most honorable and majestic Name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen
Keep physical distance from one another. Stay close socially!
