Sanctuary Moment for 05-15-14
“The Power of Hope”
“Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this
deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or
willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success,
but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.”
Vaclav Havel
What do you hope for? When I approach the weekend, I hope
for good weather and the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.
Early in the morning, I hope for a good day at work and the opportunity to make
a difference in the lives of patients, families and colleagues. I personally
hope for a rewarding career, good health, and intimacy with God and others.
We meet patients and families each day, in hospitals and
outpatient settings, who hope for good test results and speedy recoveries. Some
of these situations will have positive outcomes. Over my career in healthcare
chaplaincy, I have had the good fortune to celebrate with more patients and
families than I can count. Whether it is a parent taking a newborn home after a
NICU stay, a grandmother returning home following successful cardiac surgery,
or a teenage boy returning to school after an appendectomy, these shared
experiences can give us renewed hope and raise our spirits. Many of us have
also walked alongside people facing harder circumstances. Perhaps you have
cared for a mother with young children and a terminal diagnosis, or have
witnessed the shock of families trying to make sense of sudden loss following a
car crash. Although it can be rewarding to offer care and support in these
moments, we might feel hopeless at times.
The current state of healthcare also induces stress and
uncertainty. Will my position be here next week or next year? What about the
patient volumes in the unit you manage? What impact will the budget process
have on the resources I am accustomed to utilizing to perform my work? In my
experience, in order to thrive we also have to adapt to change. Few of us now
report to the manager or director we met during the hiring process.
Whether we are sharing the joys and pains of patients and
families, or facing other job-related stressors, I am convinced that each of us
is responsible to develop and nurture a hopeful spirit. Life is a gift to be
celebrated and shared. Careful reflection on Havel’s words above tells me that
hope is not dependent solely on achieving the outcome I would like in a
specific situation, but rather appreciating the value of meaningful work and
significant relationships. I invite you to identify what is “good” in your life
and work, and invest your time and energy in these things. I believe this is
one source of a consistently hopeful spirit for each of us.
A prayer for hope: Alone,
we do not have the resources to meet the challenges of this day, nor the
strength to accomplish the necessary tasks of caring for all those we meet. It
is easy to become overwhelmed, fearful, and anxious. Help us find beauty in
each moment, and give us peace which is not based on instantaneous results. May
we find hope that endures. Amen.
Here are two songs about hope (the first is techno, the
second a Gaither hymn, possibly following advertisements):
