Showing Kindness When in Pain

“I guess I’m still alive because AdaMarie needs to have someone to talk to.”

- Carol Butterfield

Showing Kindness When In Pain

I called my aged mother about four days ago.  During our conversation she told me that she had twisted her back in a “funny way and heard a snap. “ I knew instantly that this was not good news!  She has had several vertebrae break over the years and has been battling to maintain strength and health as a result.  So, as soon as we stopped talking I called my gentle and compassionate sister who lives in the same town.

My sister took our mother to have her back checked and found that she had indeed cracked another vertebra!  She then organized a care plan and began to take care of her.  When my wife, daughter and I went to visit as soon as we could and we were glad to see that she was getting along well under her painful circumstances.

During our visit, we sat, visited, rested and played a board game for about three hours.  Throughout our time together, her telephone rang and rang from one single caller.  She has a neighbor who has been alone since her parents, grandparents and siblings all passed away more than thirty years ago.  This neighbor lives a life that can be best described as agoraphobic.  She has very few friends and relies on my mother for many kinds of assistance.  Even though my mother told her she had guests and couldn’t talk at the moment, the calls kept coming.

As her telephone rang again and again I found myself becoming agitated; ready to grab the phone and make the calls stop.  But, I watched my mother’s benevolent eyes as she kindly spoke to her neighbor each time she called.  When asked how she dealt with this challenging relationship she said, “I guess I’m still alive because AdaMarie needs to have someone to talk to.”  She never takes personal credit for her acts of goodness.  But, she deserves the credit for an important lesson learned during this visit.

 My mother’s goodness has shown me that kindness to others must never end, even when your personal pain is almost unbearable.  True character is demonstrated over a lifetime and is always revealed when one is enduring sickness, pain or mental anguish.  You can show your strength of character every day by offering goodness to others even when you don’t feel well or are suffering personally.