Once again, I have made a commitment that I did not keep. O wretched man that I am.... Any way, I had promised myself I would blog more but the demands of life and the roller coaster I call my life has seemed to choke out that commitment. Be that as it may, no guilt, no shame, I am on the blogging bandwagon again. I hope someone is reading this but if not at least I am giving voice to the things that God has put in my heart.
This week I started a new job. Not that I wanted a new job, but the old one seemed to be going broke and they had the nerve to "eliminate" my position. So for the last two months and thirteen days (but whose counting) I have been on the hunt for a new job. Thankfully I started Monday in the role of a hospice chaplain. Several people have heard me tell them of my new job and they have looked at me a little strange and then gave that disgusted look they give someone who deals with death. "Isn't that depressing?" they would ask. "How can you do that knowing that the people you deal with will be dead within a short time?" And honestly I can say no, its not depressing. In fact it's the opposite. When I begin to hear the stories of those who know their time is limited, it makes me want to live in a way that when it comes my time to depart this earth I can remember with fondness the life I have lived. Today's blog is a case in point.
One of my new patients is a 92 year old woman. At 92 she has led a an amazing life but she knows that the end is near. As I spoke with her and her husband she shared with me pieces of her life that blessed me to no end. She told me of a hard life that both her and her husband lived. They didn't have much money and they lived through some of the hardest times our country has ever seen. However even in the midst of their needs they found contentment. She acknowledge the fact that they worked hard growing up and through most of their adult life but at the end of the day they were happy. They had learned the art of counting their blessings and living each day to it's fullest. I could have sat and listened for hours of some of their life experiences but I had others to see so I was only able to stay and hour or so. But during our short visit I felt like I had walked onto Holy ground. No the house wasn't fancy or well decorated. In fact it was old, run down and dirty. But what made it Holy ground was the fact that I could see God in that place. Because of this 92 year old woman I heard from God. Over the last several months I had found myself becoming a complainer. Complaining about not having a job, complaining about what I had lost, complaining about how things hadn't turned out the way I had wanted or prayed. But at that moment with my new friend, I saw God at work. If this woman who was in the last few weeks of life with very little of what the world would call success could be content and happy then why couldn't I. I felt embarrassed and ashamed at what I had become. But Father, as he often does, gently reached down and loved me and directed me back on the path. So I am trying to rest more in the presence of Father and being thankful for the amazing gifts I have in my life. Am I rich? Not according to what the world defines. Is every area in my life perfect? Not by a long shot. But I am blessed by God and I can rest in that today. My journey is taking me down the road of contentment and I am committed to stay on that road and become a man who is thankful. A man who is strong, honest, courageous and thankful....
Something to think about!
Blessings
Ralph
