We all have moments we wish we could take back. A phone call we never made. The thing we should have said at the funeral but couldn’t get out. The fight with our daughter that ended with a door slamming instead of an “I love you.” But sometimes, empathy steps in right when everything else falls apart. It doesn’t fix what’s broken, but it holds the pieces together long enough for us to breathe.
We asked readers to share their own stories about empathy, about the times when someone else’s kindness (or their own) changed the course of a conversation, a relationship, or even a life. The responses floored us. Here are some of the best ones.
1.
I miscarried on a Friday. My MIL was at my door Saturday morning. She sat down, folded her hands and said, “Maybe your body just isn’t built for this.” My husband stood up so fast his chair hit the wall.
I put my hand n his arm and said, “Wait.” I looked at her and I could see it, the panic behind her eyes, the way her jaw was tight like she was holding herself together with words that came out all wrong.
I said, “I know you didn’t mean it the way it sounded.” She sat there for a long moment. Then her face just broke open and she said, “I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I said that. I’m just so scared for both of you and I don’t know how to help.”
My husband sat back down and nobody said anything for a while. Sometimes the ugliest words come from the people who love you but never learned how to hold pain without making it worse.