Visit the Sick

Do you hate being sick? I do. Especially when everything hurts. I hate it when my throat hurts, my eyes itch, my nose is stuffed, I can’t breath, and I am cold and hot at the same time.

Yuck.

And the worst thing is being alone, locked up in my room with nothing to do. Boring. My family and friends get on with life, talk on the phone, come in and out of the house, have fun, and I can’t do anything.

Being sick stinks!

Most people are the same. No one likes feeling terrible. No one likes being an outcast. No one likes being sick.

And that is why it is a mitzvah to visit sick people.

When you visit a sick person – he knows you care. He knows you made an effort to see him. He knows he has someone to talk to, or to complain to, or to look at. And that is a big comfort.

Try this: if one of your friends doesn’t come to school – find out what happened. If he was sick, visit. Bring him his homework (he will love you for that!). Talk to him. Tell him about lunch. He will appreciate it. And you will feel great, too. It will make your day.

But wait. There is more.

You can visit anyone. It doesn’t matter if the person is older or younger than you, or even if you don’t know him very well. You can pray for sick people, too. (Praying does many wonderful things, but more importantly, it keeps the sick person in your mind. You will be more likely to think about him, find out about how he is doing, and visit again.) And if you can’t make it in person, call. Even if you don’t get to speak to him – the thought counts, too.

Visit the sick. It is a big mitzvah. It feels great to be visited. And it feels even better to visit.

(I found this great link. It includes all the laws of visiting the sick - very helpful.)