Eight Practical Ways to Help when Your Friend is Sick

In this season of colds and flu, or even if your friend has a more serious illness, there are a lot of opportunities to help when your friend is sick. But just what is the best way to truly be of help? Here are eight practical ways to help out when your friend is sick.

Does your sick friend have children? It is very hard to keep up with kids when you are sick. The first practical way to help when your friend is sick, is to offer to take the children with you for the day, giving your friend a chance to rest without keeping one eye open. The children probably have a lot of pent up energy, so taking them to a park would be a great way to allow them to run off some energy. Encourage a lot of running and yelling so they can get it out of their system and wear themselves out. Next, a trip to the library would be a great idea. This will not only occupy them for a while longer, but it will give them a quiet activity for when they return home. Make sure they get several books and if necessary, plan to return the books when they are due. Make sure to feed the children before you return them home.

Speaking of food, providing a meal for your sick friend and her family is a second way to help and would no doubt be much appreciated. Don't try something fancy, comfort food is what you are going for here. Homemade soup, perhaps, or something involving mashed potatoes. Not only will this mean your friend won't have to get up and fix a meal, but it will also make her feel loved and help her to feel better. When I was sick recently, my sister brought me a pot of still-hot, homemade vegetable soup, and it just tasted like love!

A third service you might be able to provide when your friend is sick, is to see if she needs some errands run. Find out if she needs a ride to a doctor and offer to take her. Also, she might need groceries, or even medicine.

While you are out, you could get your sick friend a small present as a fourth way to help. You could get her some flowers, a teddy bear or some fuzzy socks as a little pick me up. Also, your sick friend might enjoy magazines, whether new or gently used, or if you know her taste, you could lend her a funny or sweet video.

While you are at her home cleaning, picking up the children, or dropping off groceries, the fifth way you could help your friend is to do a few dishes, laundry and basic cleaning that might be bugging her as she tries to recover.

Even if you aren't close enough to help in these ways, a sixth way to cheer up your sick friend is sending a care package. It can include funny things, like stickers, jokes and balloons, and sweet things like cards or a coloring book and crayons. A phone call can sometimes be a good idea, if she doesn't have a sore throat or cough. That's seven practical ways to help when your friend is sick.

Don't make a bunch of offers or promises of what you will do; just do it. A cheery phone call that you actually make is a thousand times better than a complicated meal that you only think about making. Don't forget to pray for your sick friend. Praying is the eighth and most helpful thing you can do. While you're at it, perhaps you could pray about what you could do that would help the most when your friend is sick.