OCR Text |
Show Overcome evil with good in trying to help those in any trouble. A minute ngo I rend about a woman who went two thousand miles in order or-der to get away from her many sympathizing sym-pathizing friends. How Is It that tho sympathizing friend manages to increase our sorrows? sor-rows? By having a big heart and a little head or by having nn artlllclally big heart? My troubles havo been moro painful pain-ful on account cf sympathizing friends becauso In placo of lifting mo up thoy I sat on mo. ! Something might bo said about tho false friend who enjoys sympathizing, to seo suffering, but wo will limit this artlclo to tho real friend who falls i down in trying to comfort you in your misery. A good many examples and illustrations illustra-tions might bo given, but unjesa I get down to something useful I will diB-obey diB-obey my headline You and I may not havo been very skillful in tho past whllo delivering bad nows or talking to a friond tho first tlmo after tho frlond'a misfortune misfor-tune How can we bo moro skillful from now on? Tho 3rst tlmo I ever wroto a Christian Chris-tian paragraph in a private letter wob J ono In a letter to a beautiful girl cousin whom I had visltod. Soon after 1 hoard from that family that my cousin was dead, but that my letter had beon a great comfort to her. You cannot mako mo bellovo that 1. wroto that paragraph to my cousin l from any overy day promptings. It E was, in my mind, a product of Bome M momentary goodness or a Bupcrlor ij power. In trying to comfort others wa R should stop and think and appeal to the greatest and best thought we I know, In order to sympathize in a I way to comfort. I Much of tho discomforting sympn- I) thizing may bo duo to laziness in Bay- K ing anything wo happen to think or In using worn-out sentences that moan ,m uoimngV ' ' 3 M If thero is anything wo need, original origi-nal preparation for it is for tlmos when wo talk to friends with breaking break-ing hearts and bleeding memories. |