Comfort The Sick

Comfort the Sick

I [the Lord] will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.

Ezekiel 34:16

I have a friend who had cancer many years ago. Although she is healthy now, she still has annual checkups, and even though she doesn’t fear the cancer returning, it is always a bit nerve racking to go through the tests all over again. I decided a couple of years ago that I would make a care package for her to take to the hospital every year, including magazines, a coffee gift card, chocolates, and a note telling her I’m praying for her—all the essentials she’ll need while there. I leave it on her doorstep each year before her appointment, just to let her know I’m thinking of her and praying for her.

And each Christmas season my kids and I bring coffee gift cards, crayons, and coloring books up to the children’s floor at our local hospital and leave these gifts for the nurses to give away to parents who need a few minutes’ break and kids or siblings who could use something to do. When asked if we’d like to leave our names, our kids say, “No, just tell them it’s from someone who cares.” It takes just a bit of planning and a few hours out of our day to buy and deliver the materials, but we know these gifts mean so much to families who find themselves with a child in the hospital, especially at Christmastime.

It’s sometimes easy to forget the struggles that people are facing, especially if they are long-term illnesses, but remembering to show kindness to those who are ill is important. The Lord says that he’ll bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. What a promise we have and what comfort we can find in these words, whether it’s we ourselves or others around us who are ill. We can partner with God in his promise to strengthen the weak by showing his kindness and encouraging others as they walk through seasons of sickness.

—Kendra

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Put together a gift for someone you know who is ill, or bring a gift to your local hospital for someone who may be in need of encouragement.