What do you wear when those around you are hurting?

Do you wear black out of respect for the emptiness they must be feeling? Do you wear superhero capes to remember the fight they fought against an unseen enemy? Do you wear gold to point them to the streets in heaven? Do you wear blue for the salty tears that have been poured out? Do you wear pink for the joy that filled their cheeks and tumbled out of their life?

Do you wear an empathetic smile or a grimace at the bitter cold and hurt of it all? Do you hold back the words of hope and legacy, or do you let them fall on the soil that is damp with their questions and tears? Do you hug them and hold them and let them fall apart, or do you offer a tissue from afar?

What do you wear when those around you are hurting?

I felt the questions burn my cheeks and get stuck in my throat as I looked at my closet and thought, NO. This is wrong. This isn’t the plan. What am I supposed to wear??

I felt a gentle whisper answer, what you wear doesn’t matter as much as you being there. Go be my hands and feet.

Go help the ones who are making the tough decisions. They are leading, but they are hurting. Go love the ones who are shattered; remind them they are not alone, and I haven’t forgotten them. Go encourage the ones who choose to guide the hurting because they have walked this hard path before. Go pray for those who are seeking answers and point them to Me. Go be my hands and feet and know I am with you.

What you and I wear doesn’t matter as much as being there.