The problem of suffering. How do we help someone who is suffering, either physically, emotionally, or spirtually? As I sat by his bed, as he was writhing in pain unrelieved by medication, I began to cry. I was helpless to aleviate his pain. All (?) I could do was pray that his pain would stop and that God would give me the grace and strength to see him through this dark valley. This leads me to wondering how other people survive this. I am a trained nurse, who expects doctors and medication to aleviate pain and suffering. The truth is, it doesn't always do that. I am also a Christian. His illness has tested my faith. People don't always get better, sometimes they suffer. Is there anything we can do to help them through this? I am an inpatient person. I want to fix the problem and fix it now. This has made me realize that I really don't know anything about real, sustained physical suffering. We all see people who are disabled, but do we just pass them by like the travelers on the Samaratan Road, or do we stop to see if we can be of some help.
Mother Theresa of Calcutta is the person I most admire in the world. Her teachings and words help me. When we care for someone who is suffering and tend that person as if we are tending Jesus, it changes our whole attitude. When I become impatient, I remember the suffering Jesus. Caring for others can make us better persons if we do it with love. Caring for others can make us more patient, if we do it with love. How do we love them? We make a decision to love them. No matter if they are unloveable, ungrateful, dirty, stinky, poor or rich.