Viktor Frankl once wrote, “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.” Fred Rogers reminded us, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
At first glance, their words come from different worlds: one forged in the fires of a concentration camp, the other spoken softly through a television set to generations of children.
And yet, both point to a sacred truth: in the midst of suffering, meaning and mercy are born when love takes shape in human form.
Frankl’s psychology teaches us that pain without purpose can crush the soul, but pain seen through the lens of meaning can refine it. We cannot always choose our suffering, but we can choose our response: to orient ourselves toward love, service, or hope.
Mr. Rogers’s theology of kindness shows what that choice can look like in daily life. When the world trembles, he said, “look for the helpers.” Look for the hands that hold, the hearts that listen, the quiet ones who refuse to turn away.
When we hold both men’s wisdom together, a fuller picture of faith emerges:
Suffering becomes a classroom for compassion. Our wounds awaken us to the pain of others and invite us to respond.
Helping becomes holy work. Each act of care participates in God’s redemptive movement through the world.
Meaning grows in relationship. We discover purpose not by escaping pain, but by walking through it together.
In this light, Frankl and Rogers are not opposites but partners in the same gospel. One calls us to find meaning within; the other calls us to express it outwardly. Together they whisper: You are never powerless. Even in the darkest night, you can choose love.
So when the headlines ache and your own heart trembles, pause and ask:
Where might God be inviting me to create meaning?
Whose suffering might I quietly hold, or gently lighten?
Because every time you choose to love in the face of pain, you fulfill both men’s vision: transforming suffering into service, and despair into the language of hope.
Run with Patience 