Abundant Connections

I work as a hospice chaplain at Aseracare Hospice. I go into the homes of people whose diagnosis has a declining trajectory. Treatments, medicines and care are directed toward comfort rather than cure. Our hope, as hospice care providers, is that the patient and their families will find meaning in the experiences involved with dying and death. Our work aims to make connections that will increase the chance that our patients will discover new meaning in their lives even in its last few weeks.

I tell the patients when I meet them that I do not have pain medicine to offer. I am not the nurse. I do not know community resources and systems like the social worker does. I don’t come with the skills that our nursing assistant does to give a bed bath, shampoo hair and trim nails. I come with an open mind and a warm heart. I can stay for a short or a long time-- depending on the patient’s desires and needs.

We might assume that people who are dying have little or nothing to give. They are often weak and struggling with pain or nausea. Yet in so many cases I have watched while the dying person offers strength, comfort and peace to the family and friends—showing them that each day is a gift and each moment is an opportunity to connect and be blessed by the simple joy of being together.

It is surprising to find abundance where we thought there would be only scarcity. It’s humbling to discover serenity where we expected anxiety and fear. It’s startling to feel strength where we see a weakened body. The power of our human Spirit, the presence of love among us and within us, feeds us and leaves us with baskets of leftovers to share. It seems to be a matter of trust and acceptance.