     There are times when laughter slips easily from between the lips; other times, not so much. Some days, in fact, could be called downright staggering.
         This week there have been several of those days and although I normally focus on the light-hearted things of life, this week it seems appropriate to acknowledge the pain of going through tough times.
         A short summary of my week's news includes being made aware of the potentially critical illness of a beautiful eight year old girl, the granddaughter of dear friends. Then there's the sudden but potentially deadly illness of a dear relative and the as yet undiagnosed illness of a dear friend's husband. That was just the beginning and that's just within the past three days.
         Though it doesn't make it any easier and at the risk of sounding like I'm offering "easy answers and glib remarks" (a practice I despise with all my heart), I'm quoting something I read just this morning. After writing of the disappointment Moses experienced at being denied entry to the promised land, the author penned these words: "Beside him is another, feeling his way - blind Homer. Milton is there, blind and heart-broken. Now comes the form of one who towers above them all…His [Jesus'] face is marred more than any man's." (Streams in the Desert)
         Having said that, there is little or no value in merely hearing of the suffering of others. As family, friends, fellow sojourners through this world, we are called to pray one for another (1 Thessalonians 5:25), to be cognizant of the emotional and physical pain of others (Romans 12:15) and, to bear one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2). When lamenting the little we seem to be able to do to help, let's never forget the power that comes with prayer and with just being there for someone.
