"Trained " in Compassion

Someone asked me today if I thought I am a compassionate person. I thought briefly and answered honestly, "yes I believe I am." I couldn’t always answer that way, and certainly know I still have long ways to go. Yet I have definitely made progress. Another person once told that I was like a train going ninety-seven miles an hour downhill without brakes. As I recall, this person told me that as a result of their own experience with me, in a confrontative situation. That is a pretty good indication that I once failed the compassion test. However, how faithful is He who has called me. He has allowed me to go through some painful trials and it is through them that I am learning to have compassion. Each obstacle or painful trial in life is intended by Papa God, to produce another element of His character in me. I wish it was easier to understand this ahead of time. Maybe I wouldn’t buck so hard against what He was trying to produce in me. I am certain I have had to repeat tests on numerous occasions, rather than learning the first or second or even third time around. I can be so much like the children of Israel who wondered around and around in the desert for forty long years. I once gave Him permission to do whatever it took in me to make sure the character at least matched, but preferably exceeded the anointing in my life. I have discovered that He likes those kinds of prayers and fully intends to answer them. I, however, had no idea what I was praying in a moment of intimacy with my Savior. Yet the fruit is coming forth and my heart is grateful that compassion is one that I can claim is becoming more and more evident. I am certain my friends and family are grateful. I want to be moved with compassion, so that others can experience a touch from the Lord that will minister His pure love to them. After all, who in their right mind would want to receive from one who approaches them as a train out of control?