A Friend To The End
Traditionally, medical schools have trained their students to help patients live, while offering little instruction in helping them face death. But that is changing with the addition of courses in end-of-life care. Physicians are now taught that when they have used all their medical expertise without achieving a cure, they should seize the opportunity to stand compassionately beside their dying patients and be a friend.
Touched By A Stranger
Marsha Burgess was a complete stranger to us, so we were touched by the note she sent. She knew my husband Carl's mom who had recently died. She had often seen her when visiting her own mother at a local nursing home.
His Unseen Presence
I feel uncomfortable at times with preachers who are always saying, "The Lord told me," as if they had just heard from God directly. They give the impression that we must believe that everything they say is true. After all, how can we argue with God.
Riding A Rollercoaster
If you love someone who struggles with a substance-abuse problem, you know that your emotions and his can be like riding a rollercoaster—up and down. Today he wants help; tomorrow he's drinking or is high on drugs again. Today she's being honest; tomorrow she's running from the truth.
Neighborly Love
The Carnegie Foundation discovered that to be successful on the job, relational skills are far more important than knowledge. Its research found that only 15 percent of a person's success is determined by job knowledge and technical skills. Eighty-five percent is determined by an individual's attitude and ability to relate to other people.
Love's Check List
A woman named Nancy uses verses from 1 Corinthians 13 to help her cope with the frustrations of a busy family life. She calls verses 4 to 7 "Love's Check List" and refers to it when anger wells up within her.
My Compliments
When I receive a compliment, it gives me a warm, inner glow. At times I have felt guilty for enjoying a commendation. After all, isn't that a form of pride? But I have concluded that it is not wrong to feel good when we receive a sincere compliment because of something we have done.
Picking Daisies
I can recall when in grade school my eyes first met those of a brown-eyed girl seated a couple of rows away from me. It's hard to put into words, but something happened. It was my first case of "puppy love." Those were the days when we'd take a daisy and pluck off its petals one by one, all the while saying with a certain person in mind, "She loves me, she loves me not." Oh, how it hurt when the daisy's last petal was "she loves me not."
Tried And True
We are often disappointed by the unfaithfulness of people. A family member promises to write, but months go by without a letter. A pastor says he will visit when we are sick, but he doesn't make it to the hospital or to our home. A friend agrees to be there for us in our bereavement but doesn't even call. Others tell us they will pray for us but quickly forget our need. Someone promises to do an important task for us but never follows through. We ask ourselves, "Who can find a faithful man?" (Proverbs 20:6).
