Today I was attempting to find a specific family in the Same Day Surgery Waiting Room.  While I did not locate that family, two other families stopped me and asked me if I had time to help them.  Of course my answer was “Yes”.  Walking away from those two encounters was a reminder to me that opportunities for ministry come in both expected and unexpected situations.  I am glad I was ready to see and respond to the unexpected.

Question for the day: How are you experiencing unexpected opportunities to serve others?  I hope you like the answers you find!

One of the options our electronic medical record allows us to choose is “Continue the Care Plan”.  This statement means the current treatments are bringing about the desired results, so if the steps are repeated the patient will continue to improve.

I thought about how this applies to our spiritual life.  Each of us needs a care plan for our spirit and then we need to follow it daily in order to continue our growth with God.  Here are some items that could be included in a daily spiritual care plan:

• Praying
• Reading Scripture
• Meditation
• Service to others

Take a moment to think about how you are caring for your spiritual health on a daily basis.  The step you decide to take today, has the potential to change your life!

In my conversations with patients and visitors sometimes the topic is how the person has been hurt by what someone else has told them.  I was reminded of these scenarios by the image I used today.  I believe that many times when someone is hurt by they have been told; the person speaking the hurtful comment had no idea the lasting pain their comment would cause.

There are several ways to deal with the situation of being hurt by a comment directed toward you.

• You can go to the person and let them know how you feel and seek clarification to see if they meant what they said.
• You can decide not to let your self-image be defined by hurtful comments you receive.
• As you reflect on the hurtful comment if there is an element of truth in it, you can work to refine your actions so you are a better person.

The most important thing to remember is that we have the choice of how we will respond to a hurtful comment.  We choose to let it weigh us down and cause us pain, or we can let it go using the three methods I listed above, and in doing so be free from the power of negativity that we received.  These decisions of we respond is up to each of us and the appropriate response is also dictated by the context of the specific situation.

Leo has said this so well I don’t feel compelled to add anything to it.  I am glad each of us have talents and I am amazed at the variety of ways they can be used.

For Star Wars fans this summer is of epic importance and a new movie is released.  I still remember the first Star Wars movie when Obi Wan Kenobi makes his historic comment, “May the Force be with you.”  I deal with patients every week who seek strength outside of their own body to carry them through the healing process.  For those patients who are Christian, that force is God.  It is a joy to help patients and families connect to the Spiritual Center of the Universe and are encouraged that a power stronger than human ability is at work guiding their healing.  If anyone doubts the power of faith, they should follow a chaplain for a day.  When they see how faith enables people to deal with difficulties I would expect they would be more willing to consider the Force of Faith is an important element in life!

A friend sent this to me and I felt it was worth sharing with all my readers:

TIPS ON ENJOYING LIFE

~ Say something positive as early in the day as possible.

~ Believe in miracles, but don’t depend on them.

~ Seek respect rather popularity; quality rather than luxury.

~ If your mom says “you’ll regret it” you probably will.

~ Be happy with what you have while working on what you want.

~ Celebrate even small victories.

~ When in doubt, smile.

~ Spend time with people who are little bit better than you.

~ Don’t write something you don’t want others to read.

~ Become the world’s most thoughtful friend.

~ Anything worth doing is going to take longer that you think.

~ Accept triumph and defeat with equal grace.

~ It’s not your job to get people to like you; it’s your job to like people.

This image of a cat watching its reflection in the window caught my attention early in the day and I kept thinking about it throughout the day.  The cat is so intently engaged in looking at the reflection!  One reason I think the image stayed with me during the day is because I love pets.  A more important reason the image stayed in my mind is that it reminds me that others see us by how we behave and how we respond to them.  That image is not based so much on how we appear but how we make them feel.  As a chaplain I have a purpose in every encounter to make the person feel better because we spent time with each other.  Feedback from people we spend time with allows us to assess what our encounter together has done for them.  So I invite you to look at those you encounter today and see if you find clues on how their encounter with you has shaped their day.  I hope you will feel affirmed.  If you are not affirmed then it is time to ask why you are not having the effect on others that you desire.  Either way this can be a good exercise in self-awareness.

In my encounters with patients the subject of their church connection is a frequent topic of conversation.  A lot of these conversations are rich with inspiring stories of how the patient had been active in important ministries when the patient had the gifts of health and strength.  Other times this conversation makes me sad because in some churches once you no longer are attending, they do not seem to make any outreach to you.  This makes the patient feel forgotten and rejected by their church.  At times this sense of being forgotten gets even deeper and the patient starts to wonder if God has forgotten them.  Recently a patient told me after we prayed, “You are the first pastor to pray with me for 5 years.”  That comment of appreciation broke my heart.  Ministry to the homebound is important.  If you ever doubted the importance of homebound visitation before, I hope this article inspires you to reach out the homebound in your congregation whether you are clergy or laity, visits and prayers mean a lot to those who because of health can no longer attend the church that had been their spiritual home for years.

Today in worship our Pastor challenged us to attempt to do something to share our faith with others.  She shared we would not be judged by the response of the other person, but we would have to answer in our hearts if we had honestly made an intentional attempt to share our faith with another.  Jesus, who achieved success almost everywhere he went, was rejected in his hometown.

The challenge reminded me of what I experience every time I meet a new patient.  I come to offer encouragement and form a relationship.  But just because those are my goals, if the patient does not want me in their room, I can be asked to leave.  I am not sure what my attempt to share my faith this week will look like. But I am glad to know that God will bless me whether the other person responds affirmatively or negatively to any invitation I offer.  That is the beauty of God’s love.  And that is a great Truth for Christianity to share with our world!

Today our nation is engaged something distinctly American.  We are celebrating our Independence and honoring the lives of those who either died or risked dying to make it possible. This photo was sent by Guardian Angel Basset Rescue in Illinois.  I have adopted 2 bassets from them.  The group is dedicated to giving homeless bassets a forever home that is safe and where they can be happy.  That reminds me of some of the stated reasons for the American Revolution.

We have all heard the phrase, “Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness”.  My basset, Cooper, demonstrated the basset way of living this statement.  Today he woke up at 4 AM (on a day when I could sleep as late as I wanted to) and insisted I take him out in a rain storm so he could “do his business”.  So far today he has napped on both sofas and on my bed.  His pursuit of happiness took place on our third walk when he proudly chased a squirrel up a telephone pole.

I don’t know what today will you doing to celebrate the holiday but I hope you enjoy it as much as Cooper has so far!