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Sacred Stories | With the Arms of Christ

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“Lord, when did we see you hungry, thirsty, cold, in need?” - Matthew 25:37

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Working in a hospital, we have many opportunities to see the Lord hungry for compassion, thirsty for peace, cold from loss of love and in need. We also have the awesome opportunity to respond to the Lord and meet those needs as often as we encounter them. One such encounter occurred just before Christmas, when the weather got worse as the day went on. Blizzard warnings were issued, and the snow piled up fast. Everyone kept an eye on the weather, knowing that travel was becoming treacherous.

Late in the morning, an ambulance brought an elderly man to the emergency department in cardiac arrest. He was accompanied by his wife.

They lived in a nearby assisted living facility, and they had no family except each other. The patient’s prognosis was very poor, and he was moved to the intensive care unit. The chaplains provided presence, prayers and care as the day went on. The medical staff was tenderly attentive to both the patient and his wife as she kept vigil at his bedside. At about 3 p.m., the patient died peacefully.

By that time the hospital had implemented its emergency snow protocols to deal with bringing in needed staff and hunkering down until the storm had passed. Everyone felt terrible that the patient’s wife was stranded at the hospital, grieving the loss of her lifelong love.

Because of the snow, her assisted living facility was unable to send a car to pick her up.

One of the chaplains went to see if he could help. He found the woman sitting at the exterior door in the emergency department. Nearby was a large, four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle. The driver was our director of facilities, who had equipped his personal vehicle with signage that would allow him to drive the streets during the weather emergency.

As the chaplain watched, the facilities director gently put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, as if with the arms of Christ, and said, “Let’s get you home after this difficult day.” He carefully guided her to the vehicle, settled her in, and drove her home. The lived spirituality in this sacred encounter certainly put the words of St. Matthew into action and, in doing so, brought uncommon warmth on a very cold and lonely night.

Shared from the Sacred Stories Archive

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Questions for Reflection

Reflect on a time when you demonstrated compassion by meeting the needs of another.