Life and death, behind the glass
Monday, November 21, 2016
Maria P. Meneses
“There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven — a time to give birth and a time to die.” — Ecclesiastes 3:1-2
Three weeks into my new job as a chaplain for a local health care facility, I came to realize the immense responsibility that God had given me.
Pulling into the parking lot of Palmetto General Hospital, I didn’t know what to expect on a visit to check in on one of my dear patients who had recently transferred out. Walking towards the hospital, I saw moving fast in my direction, four EMS workers carrying an incubator. As I approached, I saw what appeared to be a premature baby fighting for her life, so I identified myself as a chaplain and quietly asked, “May I say a prayer for this baby and for her safe passage to where you’re taking her?”
Time stopped. I silently said a prayer and the four EMS workers took off their hats and we all surrounded the glass box. I looked only at the baby while placing my hand gently on the glass and said, “May God’s angels be with you, little one, as you journey with these four angels to your destination. May the spirit of God always dwell within you.” The captain smiled, told me she was being transferred to Miami Children’s Hospital, and thanked me.
Upstairs, I entered ICU to find “Sister O,” a retired nun, fighting for her life and apparently not doing well. I put on my full isolation gown and gloves, and stepped into her world, which like the baby’s before, was behind the glass. I stayed for a while, prayed with her, and then gave her some ice chips to comfort her dry, parched lips.
Just a few days later, she departed from us and journeyed to eternal life. When I learned of this, I remembered the baby in the incubator and realized that behind the glass there were two lives that day reaching out — one at the beginning, the other at the end.
As chaplains, we have important roles to play in companioning those souls who are in need; both in journeys to eternal life as well as in their journeys here on earth. There is a time for both life and death, as scripture tells us, and neither waits for anyone; it is the exactness of God’s time that commands each step of our journeys. The profundity of life and death — they are both but mere passages, through the glass!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you have a timing for everything in life, and the exactness of our time here on earth, and our queue to go home. Strengthen and illumine us to always companion the sick and the dying as well as to be bearers of life in this world so that your great Glory can shine on past the glass, Amen.
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