Let Me Be Something

Chaplaincy at Hospice House is giving me life.  Sitting and just being present with people that are dying and families that are grieving is breathing life into my soul.  Seems wrong somehow.  Sick even.  But it's true.  The end stages of life is a sacred time, and to be invited into that space is a gift.  

We don't come into the world alone. We come into the world struggling to be born. Many women use a midwife to help with the birthing process.  When we are in the end stages of our life, we often struggle and wrestle; not wanting to let go.  In many ways, a chaplain serves as an end of life midwife, or an Anamcara - soul friend.   An Anamcara helps relieve physical and spiritual pain for the dying person and the family and friends who are grieving.  This is sacred ground; a holy place. 

It's a privilege to be invited into this time and place with a family.  Little do these families know how much they teach me.  In the midst of their grief and pain, these families understand what matters.  They understand what's important.  They understand what needs to be said and shared.  They know how precious time is.  They know how important relationships are and how little stuff matters.  They know things that we should know and remember and care about long before we - or someone we love are in the end stages of our life. 

A friend of mine posted this prayer on Facebook.  It means something to me as I pray it through the eyes of my patients at Hospice House.

"'Dear God," she prayed, "let me be something every minute of every hour of my life. Let me be gay; let me be sad. Let me be cold; let me be warm. Let me be hungry...have too much to eat. Let me be ragged or well dressed. Let me be sincere--be deceitful. Let me be truthful; let me be a liar. Let me be honorable and let me sin. Only let me be something every blessed minute. And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.'"

A Tree Grow in Brooklyn by Betty Smith.  1943.