Into a Sick Chamber

Here are some interesting thoughts from a fictional pastor, penned by a real-life pastor:

"I had found that it was quite possible to be sympathetic with those of my flock who were ill without putting on a long face when I went to see them. 

"Of course, I do not mean that I could, or that it was desirable that I should, look cheerful when any were in great pain or mental distress. But in ordinary conditions of illness a cheerful countenance is as a message of all’s well, which may surely be carried into a sick chamber by the man who believes that the heart of a loving Father is at the centre of things, that he is light all about the darkness, and that he will not only bring good out of evil at last, but will be with the sufferer all the time, making endurance possible, and pain tolerable. 

"There are a thousand alleviations that people do not often think of, coming from God himself."

From The Seaboard Parish by George MacDonald