Real reason

          It's almost eight in the evening and the phone rings.  It's the county hospital.  Today was actually my assigned volunteer day.  The desk informs me that someone has requested a chaplain.  I try to trouble shoot to see if this was an emergency and I need to come in that evening.  It's possible this was just a routine request and someone new to the protocol just saw me listed and direct dialed this evening.  The receptionist is unaware of the situation, so she transfers me back to ER.  After a brief dialogue with an ER staffer, I'm no better off.  I make the call to go in anyway just in case this is an EOL (end of life) scenario.  By the time I check in and make my way to the ER, the gentleman who made the request (we'll call him John) is about to be moved to a room.  I enter, introduce myself, meet John, and attempt to diagnose his spiritual need that evening.  It turns out, John is more interested in the tv and food he will get that night than he is to talk with a chaplain.  He basically admits to just checking it off the addmittal form, along with a lot of other stuff.  John wasn't really looking for a chaplain that night.  He was just looking for anything.  Evidently, he wasn't used to the basic comforts we have each day like a room, a tv, a hot meal, and blankets.  I get John an extra blanket and we pray before I take my leave. 

          Since I'm already there, I move up to the second floor to see if anyone else needs a chaplain that evening.  A nurse refers me to 214 where I encounter a family that was actually entering the building the same time I did moments earlier.  There's a remarkably well-aged lady with long white hair resting in the bed, attached to oxygen, and largely unresponsive.   Her daughter, son-in-law, and only grandson are the only folks in the room.  Over the course of about 35 minutes, I discover the real reason I was called up there that night.  Sarah has lived a rich, full life for over 90 years but she's not expected to make it through the week.  Her grandson just got in after a 7.5 hour drive from WV.  He's likely in his late 30's but is getting married for the first time next week.  It's a unique meeting of beginnings and endings in the room that night.  For the next half hour, I'm privleged to share in it.  I leave grateful for what we encountered in that room that night in each other and in our prayers.  Shortly after Sarah comes off the machine the next morning, she dies.  Her grandson will head back to WV to wed his fiance.  John will have another night to enjoy in a room until they regulate his seizures and blood sugar.  And I'll remember that sometimes the real reason you are needed for something isn't always what you expect.

It's good to be seen

          Sam sits on the stairwell at the corner of an abandoned building in town. You can find him here most afternoons and mornings. There's nothing particularly significant about this building. Most buildings in town are vacant or abandoned. That seems to be the case now in most downtowns or Main Streets around the country. Sam of course isn't always confined to the stairwell either. Sometimes he's crouched by the doorway, sometimes leaning against a glass storefront, sometimes wandering the sidewalks on either side of the street. Most of you may even have a Sam in your town. Some would say he's homeless. While I'm fairly certain he doesn't have a house of his own, he certainly has a home - and I get to drive, jog, and stroll through it most any day of the week. He'll walk or hitch a ride to a residence each morning and evening. But the town, that's Sam's home. If you asked him, he might even tell you that. I don't know him well but I do know he has a heart. I do know his eyes light up when he smiles. He's actually a very intelligent individual and he has a mother still living in a local care facility. Sam is one of the few people I know who could tell you that the date for Christmas is probably closer to early Fall or late Summer. It has little to do with when Christ was actually born and more about offsetting pagan holidays and rituals. I know because we've had that conversation before. Sam is a man of faith for sure, and he's an informed one.

           This particular day is a rare occasion. I was on my way somewhere, or returning from something, so I was actually driving to check my PO Box instead of my usual 3 1/2 block walk. I left the car on and threw up a hand at Sam across the way as I dashed into the post office to grab my mail. A few seconds later, I step out, dart across the street, and personally shake Sam's hand to say hello. His eyes light up because he has one those big smiles on his face and we exchange a few pleasantries about the day or the weather. I ask about his mom briefly and he affirms she's doing well. Not knowing what else to add, and with the car still running, I give him a combination handshake/hug and tell him it's good to see him. Looking straight into my eyes, with his wide grin and laugh, he tells me "It's good to be seen." I dart back to the car and head on to wherever I was going or wherever I was coming from. I don't really remember. What I do remember is an authentic joy in Sam's smile and laugh that day and his words which echoed through my mind that afternoon: "It's good to be seen."

          I wonder how many had "seen" Sam that day? I wonder how many of us see Sam any day - in this town, or the next?   I wonder if Sam's words aren't an expression of every human being's desire - just to be seen, recognized, an acknowledgement of existence?  I try to remember that whenever I get where I'm going.  Whoever I find there probably just wants the same thing too.  "It's good to be seen."