OBSERVATION

Nurses are some of the most amazing people on the planet. As a chaplain I have seen them up close with what they do. Of course, they are human and have character flaws just like any other human. Even with their flaws, they are amazing people inside the work (ministry) they do. And, yes, they have allowed their personalities to take the dark side just like other humans; plain and simple they are human like the rest of us. However, in my view, I have not seen many in this profession who have allowed themselves to be bitter as such. They are also like other humans in this respect, you can see them working towards being better people with better values.

I am overwhelmed and greatly honored to assist them in their work. They seem to be as appreciative of me as I am of them, I have learned so much from them concerning allowing compensation (spirit of hospitality) in how they work with the suffering. In this, I am learning there are not much difference between physical limits and spiritual limits we have as humans. It is in these limitations we need compensation (spirit of hospitality) given to us. It is in this ministry we find a way to heal and recover.

The last three weeks the Lectionary has addressed “hospitality” as a Christian value. We need more believers who nurse people to health; more believers who deeply understand people’s conditions and be willing to compensate for those conditions for the sake of healing and restoration. Ministering to the casualties of human life we can become a casualty ourselves. Nonetheless, becoming a casualty of human casualties for the sake of salvific purposes is worth it; it was for Jesus and it is for us.