Lessons in compassion

When I lived in Los Angeles do in my fourth year externship, I had a one-month rotation in infectious diseases. One day a week the ID clinic was dedicated to AIDS patients. This was always an interesting day and one I looked forward to. We saw many rare diseases that you don't see in immunocompetent people. And even regular diseases that aren't very harmful to an immunocompetent person can be devastating and much more severe in someone who is immunocompromised. One day as the resident and I were walking into the treatment room to see our next patient, I had an experience that taught me a lesson in compassion. Sitting on the exam table was a man dressed in what I would call Sunday best. He was wearing a woman's dress, complete with pantyhose, high heel shoes, fingernail polish, full makeup including lipstick eyeliner and mascara. It was obvious that he was trying his best to look pretty. But, what I saw was anything but pretty. He was afflicted with numerous unsightly skin lesions over his entire body. If I remember correctly it was psoriasis, but much more prominent and severe than anything you would expect. He had a very sad countenance and after speaking with him it was obvious he was very unhappy. It was also apparent, that he had made a series of bad choices in his life. Which were the cause of his unhappiness. Alma 41:10 "Do not suppose, because it has been spoken concerning restoration, that ye shall be restored from sin to happiness. Behold, I say unto you, wickedness never was happiness." At that moment, I began to feel compassion towards this man. I felt very sorrowful for his unhappiness. I felt like I understood him, that the reason he was making such poor choices was because he was seeking to find happiness in his life. But, because he didn't have the Gospel to guide him, he was going about it the wrong way, making poor choices, and therefore, he couldn't find happiness. In fact, he just kept digging himself a deeper hole with each poor choice. He wanted to be accepted and loved, but couldn't find it. That day, I saw him as a child of God. And I learned a great lesson in compassion.