(This post has been imported from my blogspot account. If you are seeing this, do not fret….My posts will continue still on this site.)
Today I make my final post to this blog. Class is quickly coming to an end and so is this project, in one sense. After this semester I will head off to CPE/ Clinical Pastoral Education. I will be at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago starting June 5th.
Here I will spend 10 weeks as a Chaplin, (not the kind you see to the right, although he looks like he is suffering from a loss) serving patients and staff. I also will be learning more about myself. While in CPE, I expect to experience personal loss and grief but also share in this with others. So, does my project end or take on a new dimension? I will be moving this blog site to my other site, http://www.messy-spirituality.com at the end of the month. From this site I will continue to post and expand on my experiences.
What have I learned thus far? We all deal with grief in different ways. What works for one may not work for another. There are multiple stages of grief that we can go through? Yes, but we do not necessarily follow a specific order nor do we flow from one stage to another. We may move back and forth and jump between. All of us however need to deal with our losses and cannot burry them. Doing so will eventually take a physical toll not only on us but may also do so on those around us.
As a caregiver, I cannot fix the problem, I can only help to facilitate the process while helping the grieving person(s). Sometimes to best help is to be there but not say a thing at all. We can be, through the Holy Spirit, the living Christ on earth, just by being with someone in their time of need.
“Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words?” Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, but cannot be confirmed but true either way.
During my CPE, I am sure to encounter people from multiple cultures, walks of life, religions, different levels of faith or no faith background or belief system at all. This will be a great time of learning, participation and sharing. All of this I am being prepared for through the Holy Spirit through class, community and experiences.
Thank you for reading.
Look me up on my other site at:
http://www.messy-spirituality.com