I have a problem I’m just beginning to admit: I want to fix people. I want to fix people by giving them a book, loaning them a CD, reading them a scripture passage. I want to fix people because their pain makes me feel so helpless. So, basically, I want to fix people because I want to make myself feel better. That takes a lot to admit. Because, after all, I’m a Chaplain now; I should know what I am doing. Well, maybe I don’t, completely, but I am learning.

• I am learning that sometimes, like with my ALS patient, sitting, listening to music, and watching the activity in their garden and is better than trying to find the right words or prayers.
• I am learning that if a patient is upset it is important to lean into the pain with them and wipe their snot, not look the other way and change the subject.
• I am learning that there is no perfect book or prayer or scripture and sometimes simply admitting out loud that you are angry with God can be a prayer worth praying.