Thoughts from a Chaplain’s Journey
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“Even when you’re old, I’ll take care of you. Even when your hair turns gray, I’ll support you. I made you and will continue to care for you. I’ll support you and save you.”
I serve in a world where eighty-five years old is considered young and celebrating a hundredth birthday is rather normal.My reflections below are not an actual account of one particular visit. It is, rather, a compilation of countless moments when I arrived to help one person at a time. In living to give, I end up deeply moved through the lives of others.
A verse from Proverbs comes to mind.
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25 ESV
We are divinely designed for connection where stories intersect and hearts intertwine. We see parts of ourselves in others, as they remember parts of themselves in us. We are not alone but are rather joined through the beauty of magical ordinary encounters. Scripts flip. Narratives change. The pen keeps writing. We live forever in the hearts of one another.
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Thoughts from a Chaplain’s JourneyI searched for sunshine on a cold gloomy day.
She came dragging one foot behind. Her aged spotted wrinkled hand clutched the cane, as crooked fingers told painful stories of an overcoming life. With dignity she thrived in spite of storms from yesteryear. I gazed upon her hunched back form, weighed down by this world’s cares. She felt my presence and paused…
An unseen holy hand lifted her face. She sighed and inhaled the moment. Steadied by the cane, she slowly turned her head. Our eyes met. She tenderly and knowingly smiled, as though I was her Heavenly assignment for the day.
I was there to help, while it was she who inspired me.
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Note: The senior community where I serve is also filled with vibrant residents who exercise more than I do. They swim, dance, and some even skydive. Today’s reflection centers on my discovering sunshine with those who are pressing through loss and physical challenges.
Thank you, Lord, for each life represented in my writing today. I am overjoyed and deeply fulfilled in serving You by serving others. Little did I know how much my own life would be impacted through simple connections with such dear people. May their legacy and devotion live on through each person they continue to touch. Amen
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”