a friend who cares...

a friend who cares

 “When we honestly ask ourselves
which person in our lives
mean the most to us,
we often find that it is those who,
instead of giving advice,
solutions, or cures,
have chosen rather to share our pain
and touch our wounds
with a warm and tender hand.
The friend who can be silent with us
in a moment of despair or confusion,
who can stay with us
in an hour of grief and bereavement,
who can tolerate not knowing,
not curing, not healing
and face with us
the reality of our powerlessness,
that is a friend who cares.”

- Henri Nouwen