Blessed are you, the ones who enter into the unknown every day, as you cross the thresholds of the department of emergency. May you be the sacred voice needed for all that you will encounter.
Blessed are you, the ones who witness the unimaginable, where one split second can change a life forever, including yours. May you find your spirit of peace in the midst of sudden change.
Blessed are you, the ones who beg the parents not to see their deceased son who was a passenger, because the injuries made him unrecognizable. May your strength carry you, knowing that you need to comfort families of the other teens involved, too.
Blessed are you, the ones who support those who tried with everything they had to save that little girl’s life, only to be assaulted by that intoxicated voice in the next room. May you hold them with the promise that they are not alone.
Blessed are you, the ones who holds the mother as she walks into the bay, where her son, shot to death, laid breathless. May your strength hold her up long enough to say goodbye.
Blessed are you, the ones who caress the foreheads of those gone by their own hands, when they couldn’t take the darkness anymore. May your understanding resilience see the light of hope that is tomorrow.
Blessed are you, the ones who maneuvered through the chaos of care, as you held the hands of those who had no support at all. May your compassionate presence carry you through.
Blessed are you, the ones who absorb the blood curdling screams from devastated families when they hear what nobody wants to hear. May the words of your mindful spirit, erase the sounds that linger.
Blessed are you, the ones watching the staff who have continued CPR well beyond death because family is frozen in shock and can’t say “stop”. May you find comfort in one another, as the pain and exhaustion take hold of all of you.
Blessed are you, the ones who face day in and day out, not only the emergencies that come to the bay but also the traumas that continue on. May you seek those moments of renewal, when the quiet moments rarely come along.
Blessed are you, the ones who come face to face with those who are traumatized as well as those who caused their pain. May your faith be assured that your conflicted care for all who enter this space won’t go unnoticed.
Blessed are you, the ones who protect one another through strange humor, compartmentalizing, denial, built up walls, and unvoiced pain. May you see the tiniest crack in each other, with a light that shines through, that you will survive.
Blessed are you, the ones who are called to do this work. May you be blessed in the ways you are a blessing to many.
(c) Linda C. Moore, 2022
This Chaplain's Journey 