You aren’t too sensitive, you have a gift
Sensitive, shy people are not social misfits. Of all the types of gifts in the world, this is the one we need the most. They have a unique and much needed gift of compassion. These are people persons, quieter and less outgoing than others but still vitally important in their ability to sense and minister to, people who are hurting.
The gift of compassion includes an almost supernatural sensitivity to the emotions of others. These people get upset when a baby bird falls out of its nest and is grabbed by the neighbors cat.
This unique sensitivity makes them apt to feel wounded or offended easily and they cry over everything. Correction and criticism that would not faze anyone else will break the heart of a compassionate person. They live through their feelings. If they feel sad because they weather is rainy, even the excitement of an upcoming vacation probably won’t lift their spirits, because by golly, they feel sad and so it’s a sad day.
In the body of Christ, compassion people are the glue that helps us stick together. They reach out to hurting people, they notice when someone hasn’t been to church in a while and will call them to see if they’re okay. They can sense, in a room full of people, the one person who is feeling lonely and sad.
If their gift of compassion has been recognized, appreciated and encouraged, so they have sufficient sense of self worth, the compassion person will reach out to a hurting person with God’s love and comfort. If their gift has been ignored or ridiculed, or unappreciated as a child, they will not understand the importance of their gift and they won’t have the confidence to share it.
More than any other gift, compassion people need to be built up, encouraged and showered with love and hugs. They need to know they are NOT being overly-sensitive when they cry over every little thing. They certainly need to learn some perspective about over-reacting, but they should never be told their feelings are wrong.
Descriptive words:
Sensitive
Love everyone
Hurt when others are hurting
Exceptionally shy
Dislikes confrontation
Quiet
Poor self image
Kind
Needs lots of hugs and affirmations
Thank you for this post. This was very encouraging to me since I have often been ridiculed for being a “softy”. Recently I’ve been doing research to understand if I’m actually the one who is wrong or not. And your post helped me understand and see my sensibility from abother perspective.
I am so glad you found this helpful! People with the gift of high sensitivity, or compassion, can have it tough in our society. They are often labeled “too shy” or “socially awkward”. The reality is, in a crowd, they hang back because the sensory overload is immense. They feel everything and can tell if someone in the room is upset, grieving, passionately excited, or hiding intense anger. If you don’t know what’s going on, you start to think there is something wrong with you. In truth, you are the people we need most. Compassionate people are the encouragers, the uplifters, the listening ear when someone needs a friend. Here’s another article you might find helpful https://medium.com/@susan_95721/pooh-bear-personality-a8457f054b23