When we honestly ask ourselves
Which person in our lives mean the most to us
We often find that it is those who,
Instead of giving much advice, solutions or cures,
Have chosen rather to share our pain
And touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand
The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion,
Who can stay with us in an hour of grief,
Who can tolerate not knowing,
Not curing,
Not healing and face us with
The reality of our powerlessness before God
That is a friend who cares

–Father Henri J. M. Nouwen
In Our Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life

You are safe in my heart
Sometimes our light goes out
But is blown again into flame
By an encounter with another human being
Each of us owes the deepest thanks
To those who have rekindled the inner light of God