So many believe that if we deny the pain in our lives or run interference for the difficulties in the lives of others we are showing tenderness and compassion...is it that? Or are we really just refusing to live? We are called to experience the hard and painful times as well as the good. Faith teaches us to see God's hand in it all.
"A few days ago, I watched as Mom fed her dying son his supper, patiently holding small spoonful after small spoonful to his lips, encouraging him to swallow and take a little more, offering him a drink, dabbing at his lips. Occasionally, watching him do the hard work of simply eating, she would shake her head sadly and offer him another bite.
I watched this unshrinking woman -- a woman who, ten years ago, would have told you that she could not possibly endure such a reality -- feed her son a pureed meal from his dish, while she nourished him -- and the rest of us present -- in a completely different way, with her unconditional love. Forty years ago, she had fed her son as she feeds him now; back then it was a game, now it is a heavy sadness. But both meals had been flavored by the constancy of her love."
Elizabeth Scalia has written a disturbing but beautiful article concerning living with and through suffering, it is well worth taking a few moments to read it here.
No comments:
Post a Comment