Elder Chaplain

Experiencing the wonders of our natural world always leads me to ponder why we are so fortunate.

Solar Eclipse On the morning of August 21, 2017, I gather with several family and friends high on a southwest-facing slope under crystal clear skies.  Slowly the sun’s intensity begins to fade, the shadows …

Practicing hope has been difficult this past year ... yet I draw strength from these words of hope from a 15-year-old.

I Am Hopeful In our annual holiday letter to friends and family I wrote, “This year feels exceptionally heavy … but we remain determined to practice hope.  It’s the only thing we know to do—but the work is…

This season I feel led to lift up the many mothers who keep showing up and keep practicing hope despite abundant cause for despair. You are seen. You amaze me and inspire me.

The Matriarch I enter the room of Tara, a woman in her early 40s dying of liver failure caused by alcohol abuse.  She transitioned to comfort care the day before.  She is lying in bed, her skin a deep …

Three stories of courage and faith that inspire me to keep going ... and keep growing.

Women on the Verge Making rounds one morning, a nurse suggested I look in on Viola, age 74, who was having a procedure later that morning.  I reviewed her chart and saw that she’d appreciated visits from chaplai…

It's so important to remember and honor the people who made us who we are today ...

Remembering Mr. White On a Saturday afternoon in my 16th year of life, I am sprawled out on my bed with a book on the periodic table of elements.  I am absorbed by the table’s symmetry (and asymmetry), how minor va…

One of the most beautiful and loving families I've ever accompanied through loss ... I wish I'd known their hero.

A Hero’s Farewell My day began with a consult order for an ICU patient who’d just transitioned to “comfort measures only” (CMO)—no more curative treatments. David, 52, was found down the night before in a hom…

This post is for all who have sacrificed deeply to care for a loved one ... you are seen and appreciated!

When Do I Get My Needs Met? Among several patients on the oncology unit in need of a chaplain visit, one stood out: Helen, a woman in her 60s whose breast cancer had been kept in check for several years, had a new large mass…

Reflections on reaching a traditional milestone in life ...

Three Score and Ten In the Irish writer Claire Keegan’s gorgeous short story Foster, a family on their way to a wake stop to speak to two farm hands walking by the road, and share where they are going. “God rest him.&…

ALS is a horrible disease, but my friends Bruce and Lynette demonstrate the resilience that the human spirit is capable of.

Choosing Life, One Day at a Time I first met Bruce in August 2014 in a parking lot near the base of Mt. Baker, a 10,781’ glacier-covered volcano just south of the Canadian border in northwest Washington.  Bruce, his wife Lyne…

Sometimes our hopes need to shift quickly to align with reality ...

I Can’t Believe This Is Happening So Quickly I received a call one morning from Jacob, a nurse on the oncology unit. He said Sue, a patient I’d built a warm rapport with during an earlier stay (Telling Our Life Stories), had just arrived back…

I have heard it said that when a person dies, the thin veil between this world and the next parts briefly so they can pass through to the other side.

In the End, Love As a hospital chaplain, most of the patients I visit with return to the lives they have known, generally feeling much better than the day they arrived. It is a privilege to be with them at any stag…

The resilience of those who have suffered unimaginable loss never ceases to inspire me.

Damon My pager buzzed: “The patient in 757 wants to see a chaplain ASAP.” Damon, in his early 20s, is undergoing withdrawal from multiple street drugs. A nursing note, just posted, says he got a distress…