Psalm 103:13

As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
For the Lord knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.

No matter how weary I may be of carrying water, no matter how tired I may be of walking 400' in the rain and/or the chill just to go brush my teeth or use the potty, it's still easier than thinking of my kids having to do the same thing.

It always seems easier to be sick yourself than it is to ache over your children's sicknesses.

I think Mom is not having an easy time knowing our current difficulties with water. Likewise, I keep thinking that this is easier than it will be, someday, when Katie and Nathan are going through the same thing we're going through now.

Oh, how we [Harry Potter readers] can understand Molly at the very end of book #7, going after Bellatrix!

So when David tells us that the Lord has compassion on His children, it's not just the compassion of loving them so much because, after all, they are His children and not somebody else's. But He has the compassion of one who would rather suffer Himself than see His people hurting.