I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to work and train in a hospital setting. I began my clinical pastoral education in 1999 and have been actively involved in chaplaincy as a hospital chaplain since then for almost that entire time. What’s most amazing to me is the fact that hospitals and hospital staff work at ground zero. This includes trauma calls, end of life, new diagnoses, mental health crises, and even routine surgeries. All of it seems rather “down to earth.” In a way, working at ground zero, the hospital ER and hospital rooms, has given me the opportunity to be with folks at some of the most emotionally and physically rawest moments in life. As such, I work to encourage my patients to own their full humanity while I at the same time try to be fully human with them in their hospitalization. It’s the greatest gift I can offer. It’s the gift of accepting my fellow human being as being fully human. As COVID-19 shakes the world, I believe that being fully human is the way to live in and through this worldwide crisis. It means acknowledging my own fear and worry and tending to the worry and fear and anxiety of others. There is no need to “spin it” positively when the situation is very concerning at the least. So, living my fully human life with my fellow humans, family members, neighbors, co-workers, and strangers is the way for me. I want to help and be helped. We all need help in our ways and we all can give help to those in our paths and circles. Finally, being fully human does not negate my spiritual life. Instead, my spiritual beliefs give me hope, comfort and grace. These spiritual gifts serve to help me appreciate my true humanity even more. I seek to own my true feelings amidst this crisis while at the same time remembering I am not alone. In fact, it seems to me that COVID-19 is helping me and others to connect with people in ways that maybe could not even be possible before this event. That’s the silver lining from this virus that I hope subsides and passes, sooner than later. I believe we are all in this together.
