She picked him up and rocked him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.

The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. Psalm 116:5

Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. --Thomas Merton

Middle English, from Anglo-French or Late Latin; Anglo-French, from Late Latin compassion-, compassio, fromcompati to sympathize, from Latin com- + pati to bear, suffer

Hm.  Even the word “passion” comes from the root to bear, to suffer.  Hence the Passion of Christ.  Rather than my mistaken understanding of maybe something like “to feel.”  And thinking that com + passion = with feeling, to share feelings with someone.  And I was wrong, once again.  

So Merriam Webster, the official ACSI dictionary, defines “compassion” as sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.   God is not only aware of my distress, He longs to pour His oil of healing over and around and through it.   And the “righteous” part of His character has something to do with it as well. Being rightly aligned with what is True and holy alleviates the distress.  

And I am His child.  As a mother I am so very aware of this compassion thing that is woven into my heart.  Softly she sings to him: 

I'll love you forever 

I'll like you for always 

As long as I'm living 

My baby you'll be.

And it never goes away.  And it does not diminish. No matter how strong and big and grown-up and gone away the children of my heart have become.  

And may I live in this awareness today.  Of the woven togetherness of living together in His grace, in His righteousness.  And in the depths of His compassion.  That never goes away.  

Softly He sings to me: 

I'll love you forever 

I'll like you for always 

As long as I'm living 

My baby you'll be.