When I read the newspaper obituary section before going to work today tears formed in my eyes.  One of our Hospice patients that I had grown very close to had died, and reading the obituary was my first news of her death.  This patient and I would meet two times a month and because she outlived her original projected life expectancy, this has been a long-term spiritual care relationship.  On my last visit to her I left convinced in my heart that God was going to call her home soon.  Even with that conviction in my heart, reading the reality caused me to have a stronger emotional response than I anticipated.

In the caregiving setting the stronger the bond between the caregiver and the patient it is often harder to let go when the death of the patient happens.  That is where I am now.  But I know a whole battalion of caregivers has gone before me who have experienced the same emotions and have survived them.  So while this death has really pulled the strings of my heart, I know the discomfort of the moment will not be long lasting.  My prayers go out today to anyone who has been a caregiver and is mourning the loss of their patient.