Coping With Pain and Suffering

Recently, I have had the great pleasure of encountering multiple individuals who live their lives taking their hurts and frustrations out on others around them. I even have had the unfortunate experience of being one of the targets. This experience has been trying for me, at times bruising some of my self confidence, but the more I reflect on these situations, the more convinced I am that I have no other option than to feel sorry for these people and the way that they have chosen to live. How sad it is that they move through life in this manner. They apparently have experienced a great deal of pain and heartache and feel they must bring others down around them because they do not have a functional coping mechanism. I am so thankful to know I have a loving church community that shares my burdens day after day and that I have someone to turn to no matter what time of the day it is, no matter what the circumstances are. I know that my God is on call 24 hours a day, and I will pray that these other people I am in contact with will come to that realization some day as well.