Something I have come across repeatedly in ministry is people's fear of others' suffering. As one example, I accompanied someone to see their mother in a psychiatric ward, and they would not get out of the car. Another example, two daughters visited their terminally ill father in hospital, but fled from the door and never returned. This is by far not always the case, but it happens often enough. One of the special privileges of ministry is to visit people who are lonely or isolated for this reason. OBSERVATION: People may also stay away for reasons of contagion. If medical staff have allowed me, I have always visited such people. If one can find it within oneself, one needs to think of the person who is suffering.
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