The Ear Ache (Compassion Fatigue)
“The One planting the ear, can He not hear? Or the One forming the eye, can He not see?”
Psalm 94:9
One of my first childhood memories was me, lying on the back seat of my parents’ car, on the way to see the doctor. I was screaming and crying, with a hot water bottle under my ear. I was in PAIN!
I was bleeding from that ear.
I remember seeing flecks of blood on the hot water bottle, as well as in my ear later.
Upon seeing the doctor, my mother was told that my eardrum had ruptured. But it was a “good” thing, for now I could hear better than I did before.
“And he said unto them, ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.’”
Mark 4:9
I, like a lot of kids out there, kept getting annoying ear infections… until this last, eardrum-breaking one.
After that, I was in the clear.
Cut to years later. I discovered the famous comedienne, Gilda Radner.
“I’m so stuffed, I cannot hear.”
Gilda Radner
She quipped this statement, describing her struggle with Bulimia, and its torturous binge/purge cycles.
Indeed, she was plagued with both eating disorders, and Ovarian Cancer. The cancer diagnosis, sadly, claimed her life.
And, upon my 2017 breast cancer diagnosis, I felt a kindred connection as with someone who was battling the dreaded disease.
I also connected with her weariness.
It extended beyond exhaustion, attached to a cancer diagnosis.
For me, it extends to the enormity of life, itself.
And here is where I collided with a situation called, “Compassion Fatigue.”
Yes, this is a real thing.
Compassion Fatigue…
According to “Psychology Today,” this form of depletion and exhaustion is defined in the following manner:
“People whose professions lead to prolonged exposure to other people's trauma can be vulnerable to what's known as compassion fatigue, a state of intense emotional disconnection, exhaustion, and distress that's also known as secondary or vicarious trauma. People experiencing compassion fatigue can struggle with acute symptoms that put their physical and mental health at risk, making them wary of giving and caring.”
Yes, it heavily focuses on the caregivers, those looking out for the needs and the issues of others, like therapists, social workers, doctors, and nurses.
But, come on, it covers all of us, to some degree, at one point and time in our lives, right?
“For time and chance will happen to them all.”
Ecclesiastes 9:11
Burn out. Fatigue. Weariness. The opposition against us to keep going.
It affects our capacity to hear anything outside of the problem, the crisis, the exhaustion, and the worry.
It challenges our hearing.
Like what Gilda Radner said, we are so stuffed (with the issues of life), we cannot hear.
“The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, Elohim hath made even both of them.”
Proverbs 20:12
You may not feel like you are hearing anything from The Most High right now.
You may feel like you are cut off.
You may feel like you are disqualified.
You may feel hopeless.
You are not.
It is precisely here where you- where WE- are beckoned to come closer to Him, to experience hearing Him better.
Come to Me…
“Come to Me, all those toiling and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
To experience His rest from the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, financial, relational, and circumstantial compassion fatigue, the fatigue that asserts we have absolutely nothing left to give to anyone, ourselves included.
We are in the red.
“Come to Me, all those toiling and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
What are you hearing right now?
Danger? Threat? Peril? Disease? Destruction? Pain? Hopelessness?
Our Savior, Our Shepherd, is inviting us to come to Him, and hear differently.
Hear Him at work in our lives.
Let’s pray.
Abba,
I come to You, through Our Shepherd.
Your only begotten Son, Our Savior, יֵשׁוּעַ.
You know how exhausted I am right now.
You know how I cannot hear anything else except the worst-case scenarios and struggles.
You know how I feel I cannot hear You.
Yet You are speaking; You ARE speaking to me.
I need You to hold me and my life circumstances.
Forgive me for not turning to You.
Forgive me for going in other directions that only create more problems.
I recognize, right now, that I need Your Help.
Help me to hear You, to rest in You.
Take over this entire situation, known as my life.
Thank You.
Renew my strength; replace the depletion with more of You and Your Spirit.
I receive it all, by faith, right now.
Thank You for speaking to me, for hearing me, and for drawing me closer to You.
I come closer right now.
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
He Loves The Black Sheep!
As “The Black Sheep,” you and I are far too familiar with being forsaken, abandoned, and unwanted.
We, often, through family systems, have had to fend for ourselves, and make the decision to flee our situations.
And many of us struggle with our faith, feeling that we are even wanted by The Most High.
If our life experiences reinforce how unwanted we are, why wouldn’t the Sovereign of the Universe feel the same way as well?
But He loves, feels, and thinks about us differently; He loves us.
He embraces us.
He will never leave or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6)!
Whiter Than Snow (Yes, You, Black Sheep!)
“‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says Elohim. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.’”
Isaiah 1:18
Within many abusive dynamics, there is the emphasis of having family roles securely entrenched.
There is no such thing as an individual person.
Instead, there are roles to be fulfilled and played out.
One of those roles is that of “The Black Sheep.”
“The Black Sheep” is the role of the undesirable person.
This individual is usually saddled with all the blame and wrongdoing.
Issues, like addiction, abuse, poor relationships, financial woes, or anything else that is deemed to be painful, difficult, shameful, forbidden, or unpleasant, is often heaped onto “The Black Sheep.”
It’s decided that it is their fault.
And that poor soul is often shunned, bullied, and rejected; there is often no support for this individual. Cast as the role of “The Black Sheep,” he or she often must figure out life by themselves.
Many times, fully ostracized by toxic family system dynamics, this person leaves the family. Perhaps, he or she tried repeatedly for years, or decades, to “hang in there,” but, eventually, there is a breaking point.
Therefore, this person flees. They need to leave. They often do not want to leave.
Safety, health issues, and the demoralizing “unwanted” messages received by “The Black Sheep” become unbearable, and even dangerous.
“The Black Sheep” role is the lie for that individual.
Don’t get me wrong. The hellish, painful experiences are real; that is not the lie.
But the very role, one of constraint, agenda, and manipulation, IS.
Inherently, no human being is to be cast in “The Black Sheep.”
Each person, inherently, is a unique individual, created and loved by The Most High.
“The Lie” is assigned to “The Black Sheep,” with the negative connotations, as being tainted, dirty, undesirable, defective, unwanted, always at fault, and wrong.
Shame is usually attached to those assigned associations.
And, unfortunately, for “The Black Sheep,” it can eventually play out as a self-fulfilling prophesy. Poor behaviors and choices can result, due to negative self-esteem.
Unfortunately, a person can “live down” to other peoples’ negative view of them.
“The Black Sheep” believes the lie of who they were told they were.
And they act, in distorted agreement OF that lie.
“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Yahshua Ha-Mashiah (Jesus) His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7
There are significant reasons why Our Savior is regarded as “the spotless Lamb” (1 Peter 1:19).
“but with the precious blood of Yahshua Ha-Mashiach (Christ), as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
“The next day John saw (Yahshua) Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of (YAH) God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”
John 1:29
He is “spotless,” responding to our sullied condition, no matter how real or perceived it may be.
Yahshua loves all sheep, both black and white. He wants them all.
And He wants all of us, in the fold, to view and experience ourselves as clean, new, wanted, and loved.
He wants us to believe the Truth, not the lie.
“How much more will the blood of Yahshua Ha-Mashiach (Christ), who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to (YAH) God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living (YAH) God!”
Hebrews 9:14
“Scarlet sins” speak to each of us. Each of us, desperate for a Savior, is a “Black Sheep.”
“‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says Elohim. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool.’”
Isaiah 1:18
Like wool.
Sounds like the Sheep He sees us as all along.
We can be redeemed. We can be given our new identity.
“Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.”
Psalm 51:7
Have you endured a “Black Sheep” lie in your life and circumstances?
Do you feel blemished? Stained? Defective? Wrong?
You and I are meant to be so much more that how life lied to us.
We are meant to live Truth.
Let’s pray, Fellow Black Sheep.
You are not “too lost.” You are not “too far gone.”
Abba Father-
We come to You in The Name of Your Sinless Son, Yahshua.
We ask that, from this point on, He be in complete control of our lives.
We accept that He paid the price for us, in all our shame-filled secret sins.
Forgive us.
Help us.
Thank You, however, that You, through the Redemptive Blood of Your Son, Yahshua Ha-Mashiach, have bought us back from death.
We receive it, in His Name, right now,
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
Angels (In All Our Ways)
“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:11-12
Angels are more than just home décor and storybooks. They are real helpers to us.
Not just in keeping us safe and protected, but by keeping us in ALL our ways (Verse 11).
Angels are watching over you and keeping you right now, because you are that precious and important TO The Most High!
Ink And Airwaves Interview…
Just finished this interview. Link to come, The Most High Willing!
His Name (“The Name Devotionals: Volumes 1 and 2”)
“Seek YHWH while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.”
Isaiah 55:6
There is so much TO His Name.
What else is there TO it?
What IS His Name?
Where Does it lead us?
His Name continues.
Amazon.com: The Name Devotional - Volume 2
Create! The Spitting Image of Your Father
How creative do you think you are?
Resemblance.
Do you know that you resemble your Father.
And HE IS Creative!!!
Don’t doubt; create!
He’s created you to do so, for His Glory!
“Then Elohim said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.’”
Genesis 1:26
Valid! (“Just Violated?”)
What you went through was valid; it was real.
Don’t let anyone talk you OUT of what you went through.
Elohim saw it all!
He loves you, and He validates and heals you, even now!
What was it that I was born into? What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
Amazon.com: (“Just”) Violated?
Golden Cracks
“Now when they were filled, He says to His disciples, ‘Gather together the fragments having superabounded, so that nothing may be lost.’”
John 6:12
Recently, Hubby and I went to see the Liberty Bell.
It is one of the most famous symbols of America, Philadelphia, and freedom.
And, just as famous?
Its crack.
Damage.
A “defect.”
Unsightly.
Seeing the hulking, cracked bell sparked, for me, the cracks WE carry.
The damage.
The “defect”
Unsightly.
Those of us who have been violated, abused, traumatized, changed, in one way or another by some “life event” can often feel “less-than.”
We feel permanently subpar, useless, and ineffective.
And, certainly not attractive, wanted, sought out, or desirable.
We are broken.
No one wants to look at us; we don’t even want to look at ourselves.
We can sink into despair, depression, vices, addictions… sins.
Behaviors that debase and damage us even further.
Sound familiar?
Don’t worry. I won’t tell on you.
You know your own bitterness, right?
“The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.”
Proverbs 14:10
We are broken from our original condition. We hardly feel like we are pristine or in “mint condition.”
We may feel ruined.
And we hurt the entire time as we feel that way, don’t we?
Years ago, I came across this post, which has helped me, connecting it to Scripture.
Kintsugi (or Kintsukuroi).
That’s what’s it’s called.
The cracks are appreciated and honored as they are filled with gold.
It is now viewed as precious, a thing of great beauty and value.
“Aggrandize the damage…”
Beautiful and worthwhile for having suffered damage. For having marring cracks. For being imperfect.
For being broken.
Helpful, healing lessons, found in these damaged vases and pots, right?
Again…
“Now when they were filled, He says to His disciples, ‘Gather together the fragments having superabounded, so that nothing may be lost.’”
John 6:12
The fuller account is in John 6:1-14. The miracle of the loaves and fishes.
But let’s study verse 12, specifically.
“Now when they were filled…’”
Scripture illustrates how everyone had been satisfied. They ate the loaves and fishes to their hearts content.
All you can eat.
Maybe some ate TOO much, gorging themselves out of a “feast or famine” mentality.
You can relate, right?
Those of us, especially, with disordered eating issues, know all about the binge-purge-starve methods. And it’s compulsive. We are rabid, as we swing from one damaging behavior to another.
Similar?
Addictions and vices, seemingly countless and individual, as grains of sand.
“Now when they were filled…’”
But this, perhaps, can also mean that the search to “get full” was not the answer, for as much as it was promised that it was.
Trying to fill the hole, the ache… with SOMETHING.
And it still didn’t work.
“…He says to His disciples…”
The healing, the promise, and the answer won’t come from something, but from SOMEONE.
A specific Someone.
Our Savior.
Our Messiah.
Our Shepherd.
יֵשׁוּעַ.
You may know and call Him Yahshua, Yehshua, or Jesus.
He’s The One Who deals with our brokenness. He’s The One Who speaks to its value, even while appearing so hopeless.
“…‘Gather together the fragments having superabounded, so that nothing may be lost.’”
Nothing about you is lost to Him.
He can bring redemption from some of the ugliest, most painful things.
He does it all the time.
Why can’t He do it for you right now?
“My sacrifice, O Elohim, is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, Elohim, will not despise.”
Psalm 51:17
Wherever you, whatever ugly and hopeless cracks are in your life, turn TO Him now.
He does not hate you; He does not see you as ugly.
You just need to be filled with His Golden Touch.
The cracks are sanctified and beautiful, through Him.
Let’s pray.
Abba,
I come to You, through Our Shepherd.
Your only begotten Son, Our Savior, יֵשׁוּעַ.
You know how broken and cracked I am.
You know how ugly, worthless, hopeless, and disgusting I feel right now.
You know what has happened to me.
You know what I have done.
Forgive me for all my sins, for every debasing and ugly thing I did, out of pain, despair, desperation, anger, and my willing choice to go against You.
Whatever has happened in my life, with and without my direct participation, it has led me here.
Desolate.
I need You; I turn to You.
How can You make anything beautiful or gold from my life?
Please do so, even despite me.
Be my Savior; salvage me, and every cracked and broken thing about me.
I cannot do this on my own.
I need You.
Help me now.
Thank You that You will redeem, beautify, and use my life for Your Glory.
I receive it now.
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
You KNOW Your Own Bitterness (“Just Violated?”)
“The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.”
Proverbs 14:10
What you went through was real, valid, and not to be minimized or dismissed.
The Most High saw everything that happened.
And He wants to heal you.
What was it that I was born into? What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
Amazon.com: (“Just”) Violated?
Detective Work (“Just Violated?”)
“It is the glory of The Most High to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”
Proverbs 25:2
When did the detective work start?
In childhood?
Because of something that “Should” be a given, but it’s not?
Like celebration.
Who and what is and is not celebrated.
What did that look like for you?
What was it that I was born into? What was it that I endured?
What WAS I “a product of?”
Rape? Abuse? Violence?
(“Just”) Violation?
Amazon.com: (“Just”) Violated?
They Are Working!
“…’My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.’”
John 5:17
When nothing else works in our lives, THEY ARE!
“I and The Father Are One.”
John 10:30
Forsaken? (“The Name Devotional”)
“…‘My YHWH , my YHWH, why have You forsaken me, far away from my salvation, from the words of my roaring?’”
Psalm 22:22
How many of us have felt rejected?
How many of us feel that right now?
The Name of The Most High may seem intimidating and oppressive.
We may feel that not only people have rejected us, but the very Sovereign of the Universe, Himself!
But there is more going on than what we see and feel.
(“The Name Devotional” Excerpt):
Abba,
I come to You, feeling forsaken hopeless, and lost.
You know everything about my life and where I am IN it.
You know my crying out to You, even if I never uttered words, let alone, Your Glorious Name.
You know. You know.
Forgive me for all the times I have disregarded, and yes, forsaken You.
Thankfully, You do not behave as I do.
You are more loving, more gracious, more merciful, more attentive, and more patient than I am.
Thank You for that.
Thank You for hearing me cry out to You.
Help me to know more about Your Name, The Name I’m crying out to.
Help me to know You.
I am desperate.
I need You.
Thank You that You answer me.
Amen.
Amazon.com: The Name Devotional
“The Name Devotional: Volume 2”
There is so much TO His Name.
What else is there TO it?
What IS His Name?
Where Does it lead us?
His Name continues.
Amazon.com: The Name Devotional - Volume 2
“Hazel” (“IF You Know?”)
What are the “code words?” what do we really mean as we speak them?
For instance… “Hazel.”
What comes to your mind?
A name, yes.
And an eye color.
And what else?
“It is the glory of The Most High to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.”
Proverbs 25:2
(“IF You Know?” Book Excerpt):
She was not fair, like who usually comes to mind when we think of someone Norwegian or Swedish.
Mom’s physical appearance was comprised of golden skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes. Her eye color was that of Nat King Cole’s.
Light brown eyes.
My Mother: Splitting the Color Difference?
Mom was that blending of my dark- featured grandmother and my “Norwegian,” blue-eyed grandfather.
She does appear to split the difference.
She has the tinge of brown eyes, yet lightened, “whitewashed,” by her paternal blue-eyed father.
Yes, those light brown eyes and dark hair seemed to focus even more attention on her glowing skin.
What WAS this?
“For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.”
Luke 12:2
“The Problem Picture”
When you and I hear the phrase, “The MeToo Movement,” it comes across as a newer issue affecting our current world.
But we know better, right?
“There is nothing new under the sun…”
Ecclesiastes 1:9
The issue has been with us for centuries.
Centuries.
Check out THIS painting from 1874: “The Irritating Gentlemen” by Bertold Woltze.
“The Me Too” Movement, according to the 1800s.
This painting exemplifies an artistic genre that sprang up in the mid- nineteenth century, referred to as “The Problem Picture.” The art from this genre focused on portraying uncomfortable, ambiguous scenes, often showcasing compromising positions and vulnerability.
We see that in full effect in this painting. Let’s look a little closer.
We are drawn to the young woman.
She’s fair, probably barely out of her teens, if that. She’s alone, staring at “the viewer,” with an appeal for… help?
We see a tear, resting on her check, under her right eye.
So, she has been provoked to cry. This situation has brought her to that point.
She has that “deer in headlights” look.
She’s uncomfortable, distressed, fearful, and desperate for someone to intervene and rescue her.
Who knows how long she has been in this predicament?
Minutes?
Hours?
He doesn’t seem to be leaving her alone.
And she WANTS to be left alone!
But she is trapped.
Stuck.
Nowhere to go.
And “he” knows it, doesn’t he?
And he is taking advantage of the opportunity.
The “gentlemen?”
Well, he possesses an exaggerated grin, as he leans over the train car seat, focused on this young woman. He appears lecherous, not just “irritating.”
“Unwanted Attention.”
“But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.”
Matthew 5:37
She couldn’t-didn’t- say “no.”
And/or she DID, and it was disregarded.
“Me Too,” anyone?
The powerlessness.
Can you relate?
I can.
Here’s an ugly reality, especially for females?
It is WHEN, NOT IF we will be “messed with?”
Bothered.
Harassed.
Assaulted.
Raped.
“Violated.”
“Unwanted Attention.”
It usually can start with a moment like this painting.
“The Problem Picture.”
(“Just Violated?” Book Excerpt):
…As a theatre major, I was involved in college productions. In this instance, I was the twenty-year-old Assistant Director of the Spring production of “The Fantasticks.”
My theatre professor was its director.
Let me set the scene, since I am so theatrically inclined.
I was standing in the lobby area of the theatre department, looking at the poster for the production.
My Professor/Director comes up behind me, engulfing me with a big bear hug. I froze.
What do I do? What do I say?
There was no one else roaming around the department at this point. An opportune time, I suppose.
He didn’t say a word. He was over six feet tall, to me, being a, then, five-foot four stature in height.
And even though I was overweight at the time, from the “Bulimia phase” of my eating disorder behaviors, I still felt overpowered, miniscule in his bear hug shadow.
He hugged me silently for probably two minutes.
And then, he kissed my neck.
What?
Now what am I supposed to do?
I looked around to see if other people were walking around the college campus. There must be somebody here. It was during afternoon classes. Where were the people?
But no one was there. Ghost town. Complete silence.
He kissed my neck, uncoiled his ruddy and hairy arms from me, and walked away.
What was that?
A “thank you?” A bit of “praise?”
Just a theatre type, being all warm, fuzzy, cuddly, and physically affectionate? You know those weird theatre people.
Was this “grooming?” Grooming me for what though? I’d be graduating within that month and then transferring to another school to complete my bachelor’s degree.
What message did he want to send me?
I knew he was married. I had seen his wife at numerous production performances.
Was I just making a big deal out of nothing?
My dad would probably say “yes” to that. In his mind, this was not a real thing to be bothered with. My mother would also probably say “yes” as well.
And my mother would probably further emphasize me keeping “my eye on the prize.”
Besides, it’s “not that bad.”
I can hear her voice saying something like…
“Don’t fight back. Don’t retaliate…”
(Again, “get along to go along”).
She would continue to encourage/warn me…
“You are almost ready to graduate with your associate in arts degree and move on to another college. You can have a new start there. You’re doing so well. Dean’s list. A great resume. Do not blow it now.
It’s not that big of a deal.”
This was long, long, LONG before the “Me Too” movement.
A different time? A different culture?
Eh, I don’t know. Perhaps. But it was still inappropriate, right?...
“The Problem Picture.”
What’s YOURS?
Whatever it has been that has you relating to this young woman in the painting, The Most High, your FATHER loves you, did not cause that or want that for you… and He wants to heal and help you now.
It doesn’t matter how long it has been.
It doesn’t matter if someone else doesn’t think it weas that big of a deal.
“Violated.”
Another person’s opinion does not dictate your real pain and trauma.
“He who affixed the ear, can He not hear?
He who formed the eye, can He not see?
He who admonishes the nations, does He not discipline?
He who teaches man, does He lack knowledge?
YHWH knows the thoughts of man,
that they are futile.”
Psalm 94:9-11
What you experienced was VALID.
He wants to help you right now.
Let’s pray.
Abba,
I come to You, through Our Shepherd.
Your only begotten Son, Our Savior, יֵשׁוּעַ.
You know what my “problem picture” is.
You know the pain, the shame, and the fear.
I need Your Help.
Forgive me for not turning to You sooner.
Forgive me for running away from You.
I know that You know.
You know fully what I went through.
Help me now.
Help me to heal now.
I’m not sure what that looks like.
Thank You for helping me.
I receive it now.
Amen.
Copyright © 2026 by Sheryle Cruse
In Between Seasons
“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
What season or era are you in right now?
Has it fully arrived?
Or are you in that “awkward phase?”
Wherever you are, The Most High has you; He sees you.
He IS taking you “from Glory to Glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
You are getting there; KEEP GOING!
Sound The Alarm
