Monday, November 1, 2010

Seems a good number of my friends are going through challenging times. Whether it is relational or physical, they are being tested to their full capacity.

I get worried enough when I hear that one of my friends is experiencing serious challenges, especially physical. But lately, things have gotten a tad out of hand. Seems each time I connect with another friend, I discover that something is seriously wrong, landing them in the hospital only to fine himself or herself under the surgeon’s knife.

The same week I went in for my surgery, I had three other friends go under the knife. In a perverse way, we gained comfort from one another, as each kept the other informed of their post-surgery progress, encouraging the rest that all would go well with our individual procedures and recoveries. Thankfully, each of us has had a fairly easy time with getting back on our feet.

But since my surgery, I have heard of at least one if not more, per week, of my friends who has fallen seriously ill, needing to be hospitalized for any number of intense medical problems. It’s true that I laugh and smile my way through most things. With my friends, I’m no different. And when I get word of such trying situations they’re enduring, I double my efforts to help bolster them any way I can.

Sometimes that means giving them the time and space they need to come to terms with everything, knowing that when they’re ready, they’ll reach out. I don’t get upset at their distance or silence, for I understand from whence it stems—their need to process.

There are others to whom I make known my presence, allowing them a strong shoulder to lay their burdens on and a listening ear. I know I can’t take away their pain or fix whatever is wrong, but I can be there for them.

Still others require that they be distracted. And so, it’s with those that I find myself being my goofy self and chattering on endlessly either by phone, text, email or in person to give them a respite from their current “storms.”

I’m not trying to imply that I’m a saint or make any of this about me. I’m not, and it’s not. The point I am trying to make is that there are people out there who need others to help get them through certain challenges. And I believe it’s up to us, as the ones who love them and who they trust to be there for them.

We never know, until we try, what kind of impact some small act of kindness we display might have on another in need.