The reality of chaplain work is that there is death. Since I work at a Level 1 trauma hospital and the only one in the state, there is a lot of death. Last week during my on call I spoke to a man who was told that day that he is dying and given just a short time to live. Following that call I went to the room of a patient who had just died and sat with his spouse as they shared story after story about their loved one and their relationship. After being with that family for an hour, I received a new call to the emergency department for another death. I sat with that family and listened to the sibling wail and the in-law process their grief out loud. The next morning another one of my calls would die after life-saving surgery did not prevail. There is a lot of death at the hospital. And who is in the room when death comes knocking? The chaplain. We are there to listen and support and walk alongside you for a brief time as you process your grief and share about your loved one. It is a holy time, in a holy place. Thank the LORD I'm not without the Holy Spirit that guides me and them through it all.
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