But You Poor Thing!

When my husband and I were first married, we came up with a little conversation when things weren’t going as we wanted:

“You poor thing!”

“I know!”

“But you poor thing!”

“I know!”

The situation was acknowledged, and it was also acknowledged that it wasn’t that major of a deal. It was used for everything, from small slights to “major” issues. You were heard, but nothing was going to change. Silly, but it worked. I know that Joshua felt my pain, but that was just life and there was nothing he could do about it. We have taught our kids the same thing, and recently my two-year-old son spouted, “I know!” when I told him he was a poor thing.

God does this too, but infinitely better. We tell him all our slights, our hurts, the times where things don’t go quite as planned, and He’s the One to say, “You poor thing.” But instead of this being the end of the situation, He gives us something greater: the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13).

It’s great to have your “issues” acknowledged, good to have someone who will listen to your rough times, but how much better to have Someone who can do something about it. We aren’t promised a solution to our problems, just Someone to help us through. And you know what? We aren’t such poor things after all.