“I’d rather go sit with someone who is dying.” Those are not words I ever thought I’d say, let alone mean with all my heart, but I uttered them the other day. There is no greater proof that my time as a hospice chaplain has changed me. The process of dying brings many thoughts and emotions to the surface but the last moments of someone’s life have a way of distilling what matters from what doesn’t. What I was dealing with that day was important but wasn’t of ultimate importance, and I knew it.
One of the greatest gifts that came from my time on the hospice floor was the reminder to live each moment. Keep perspective. Value the things that truly have value. Don’t take the moments for granted. If I can learn to live into that reality, if I can remind myself to “go sit with someone who is dying” in each moment, then I have been changed for good.
nikkicooley 