Faith Walk: The Ministry of our Presence

The greatest ministry we can have in the lives of others is our presence.

Rather than giving advice or platitudes we can share the pain of others by remaining with them in their time of suffering. Many times, we do not know what to say or we are afraid of saying the wrong thing. The best thing to do is to say nothing. The deeper the pain that someone is feeling, the fewer words we use. We cannot talk people out of their pain. People will let us know when they are ready to talk. Our role is not to help them figure things out and connect all the dots. Our role is to let them know that they are unconditionally loved. If we want to be that kind of friend, then we must be willing to give people our love, attention, and presence— as much as they need.