Article April 6, 1987 Issue

Tender, loving care

A little "TLC" goes a long way in what may seem an often uncaring world. How can our caring go deeper and have more effect?

Mary Barnes

When I was having a meal in a communal dining room one day, a lady at the next table (who, I later discovered, had recently lost her husband) mentioned to me how tremendously important TLC was. She then went on to explain this meant "tender, loving care." Since her husband's death she had obviously felt the need of such care, which had apparently been supplied by friends who had taken her into their home for several months. I could see how much this loving act had meant to her.

Since then I have thought more deeply about this incident. It made me realize anew how necessary it is for each one of us to express this tender care in our daily contacts. Perhaps one of the most poignant Biblical examples of this selfless love in action is to be found in the story of Ruth.

The opening verses tell of the famine in Elimelech's native land, which led him to take his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, into the country of Moab. While there, Elimelech died. Then the sons married Orpah and Ruth. After some ten years both Mahlon and Chilion also died.

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POSITIVE PRESS
April 6, 1987
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