Saturday, July 26, 2003

On Call

I haven't mentioned it yet but this week I've been the On Call Chaplin at the hospital, evenings and weekends.

Tonight around 11:45 pm a call came in so I got up and headed out.

Turned out to be a man in his 50's. Him and his wife were at a wedding reception, dancing the night away. Suddenly, he collapsed into her arms, falling to the ground.

He never made it.

He lived 2 years longer than the Doctors said he would. And, they lived life as fully as they could.

I prayed with his wife and friends and listened to them, gently coaxing the stories and memories to the surface.

We waited for the kids who had a ways to travel. Then we told them the news. That never gets easy.

More friends arrived, beginning to care for them. The farming community is very close here. They are like a family. Already they were telling his wife that they would get the crops off the field in autumn.

And after assuring them of my prayers, I slipped into the night.
You know, leaving this world in the arms of the one you love is not a bad way to go at all.

I think it's time I learned how to dance.

3 comments:

  1. I'm glad there are people like you who comfort people in their time of loss. You make the world a better place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey thanks Leighton.



    You just made my day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's a cool story. It's sad but it really does sound like the way to go. Dancing with the person you love most.

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