When we honestly ask ourselves
which person in our lives means the most to us,
we often find that it is those who,
instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures,
have chosen rather to share our pain
and touch our wounds with a gentle 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, Out of Solitude
