This is one of those stories you couldn’t make up if you tried. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve heard that Lindsay Lohan has been arrested AGAIN for DUI (in case you have been living under a rock…you can read the story here). What a mess. First she has a major struggle with alcohol and drug abuse and is in rehab multiple times. On top of that she gets busted for DUI and a Hit-and-Run charge (that happened over Memorial Day weekend–just turned herself in last week for that one). And then early this morning she gets busted again for DUI and driving with a suspended license. And the icing on the cake? During a pre-booking search the cops find cocaine on her–add drug possession to the list!

All day long I’ve been listening and reading about this story…and I must say that my first reaction was much the same as most of what I heard: “This girl needs to be put away for a loooong time! She is a mess!”. During my workout this afternoon I heard a conservative TV host rail on about how people are feeling sorry for her when instead they should be throwing the book at her.

I have to be honest…I’m struggling with this one. One the one hand, I certainly think she deserves whatever punishment is coming her way. And I hope she gets everything she deserves…especially if it wakes her up (why do we so often have to hit absolute rock bottom before we turn things around??).

On the other hand…she is a mess. And for some reason my heart goes out to her. She is obviously trapped in a deep cycle of addiction. She is screaming (in her own way) for help…and I’m sure she is scared to death that she won’t be able to conquer this beast that has its grip on her. She is a hurt, scared little girl.

Something our pastor said this week keeps ringing in my head when I think about her situation: “Jesus died for Lindsay Lohan”. It’s so easy for me to pass judgement on her instead of having a heart of compassion. It’s so easy to think I’d never do the things she is doing (that thought lasts for about a nano-second because I know it isn’t true). It’s the old “there but for the grace of God go I” cliche…only this time I’m not sure it’s a cliche.

Call me a “bleeding heart”, but for some reason this story has me being more compassionate than I typically am for celebrities. I think this girl found too much fame and fortune and just flat out wasn’t prepared for it. Mix in the wrong crowd and you’ve got a recipe for disaster…the nightmare she finds herself in right now.

I just pray that she hits bottom and genuinely turns to God for help out of the “miry clay”. And right on the heals of that prayer is that I will learn from her mistakes and keep my nose pointed down the narrow way myself…and maybe even exercise a little more compassion for those closer to me that are waging their own battles.