They should be looked up to and treated as ministers
sustained by our Heavenly Father in a painful experience, expressly
for the good of those around them. This appreciation of their ministry
and usefulness will greatly lessen their trials and impart consolation.
If in hours of weariness and infirmity they wonder why they are kept
in a useless and helpless state to burden others around, they should
be assured that they are not useless; and this is not only by word,
but, better still, by the manifestation of those virtues which such
opportunities alone can secure.
Another mode of cheering the aged is to engage them in the domestic
games and sports which unite the old and the young in amusement. Many
a weary hour may thus be enlivened for the benefit of all concerned.
And here will often occur opportunities of self-denying benevolence
in relinquishing personal pursuits and gratification thus to promote
the enjoyment of the infirm and dependent. Reading aloud is often a
great source of enjoyment to those who by age are deprived of reading
for themselves. So the effort to gather news of the neighborhood and
impart it, is another mode of relieving those deprived of social
gatherings.
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