Hope you have had a great Thursday...
Mine was very busy -- I saw patients all day long -- what a blessing...
I started early this a.m. with Nouwen's words: "A life of faith is a life of gratitude -- it means a life in which I am willing to experience my complete dependence upon God and to praise and thank him unceasingly for the gift of being. A truly eucharistic life means always saying thanks to God, always praising God, and always being more surprised by the abundance of God's goodness and love. How can such a life not also be a joyful life?"
I saw this Nouwen quote COME ALIVE today in my visits...
I spent my day with five terminal patients -- ranging from their 40s to their 80s -- all expected to die within six months. But all had something to teach me today -- maybe even more than Henri in his lenten devotional...
So what happened...
First of all -- GRATITUDE! These people are dying and yet their lives are overflowing with APPRECIATION to God and others... Their glasses are HALF FULL [rather than half empty]!
Second of all -- TRUST! My teachers today have moved beyond the illusion of control and are fully turning their lives over to God as they grow in understanding of his unconditional love... They are LETTING GO and LETTING GOD!
Finally, I was surprised by JOY! Their powerful sense of well-being is NOT rooted in their circumstances [pretty crappy], but in their relationship with God. They are gripped by AUDACIOUS HOPE!
In closing...
I asked a 49 year old grandma today [she is dying due to bone cancer]: "How do you keep your spirit up with all this stuff going on?"
Her response: "Chaplain Guy, in my spirit, I am like a FISH -- when I get in bad waters, I just turn and swim the other way! I just keep on swimming toward Jesus -- then, I am always OK!"
Ready to go for a swim???
"See" you tomorrow,
guy
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