March 6
RHC Monthly Mission Moment-March
Every month, at Resurrection Health Care, we offer a reflection for officers to use and share with the staff.
Resurrection Health Care
Robert Bulger

Pastor Alan Smith tells the story about an individual who works in the customer service center of a national pager company. This person deals with the usual complaints regarding poor pager operation, as well as the occasional crank caller demanding to be paged less often, more often, or by more interesting people.  His favorite call came from a man who repeatedly complained that he kept being paged by "Lucille."  He was instructed that he would have to call her and tell her to stop paging him.
    
"She never leaves her number, so I can't call her back," he said.
    
After three such calls, someone thought to ask how he knew it was Lucille if she didn't leave a number.
    
"She leaves her name" was the reply.
    
After establishing that the customer had a numeric-only pager, the light bulb came on.  "How does she spell her name?" the service rep asked.

"L-O-W C-E-L-L"
[Insert your groan here]

 Is it just me, or do lots of you feel like you are walking around with “low cells?” We have a winter that just won’t seem to end, an economy that looks darker every day, a government that seems to be the essential example of the term “gridlock”, and one natural disaster after another. The healthcare industry is broken. We can’t even trust our cars to work properly.

For all of us in the health care profession, the problem of energy drain is even more acute. Psychologists and management experts refer to this feeling as “compassion fatigue.”  That phrase has a nice sound to it, but there may be an even deeper truth.

For anyone who is in a constant giving role (like a health care worker, spouse, parent, anyone with compassion, actually) there is a temptation for “compassion fatigue” to devolve into self-pity.

“Look at all I am doing! I do all this for others, but nobody is doing anything for me. I am so tired. Is there no end to this? Am I the only one who cares? This is asking more of me than is fair. I have my own problems that I should be tending to.”

Sound familiar?

It is easy, when we are tired and frustrated, to lose heart, to begin to feel sorry for ourselves, and eventually to feel that we are being unfairly used, or taken advantage of, by others. We can’t help but feeling that we are being asked to give more than our fair share.

This may be all-to-common but the question is: what can we do about it?
Well, if our Mission Statement says that we “exist to give witness to God’s sustaining love” what does this loving God say to us in these moments?

Here are two passages from Scripture to reflect on for a possible answer.
“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:11)

"Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.  And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there." (Matthew 14:22-23)

  So here is one solution: when things start to bother us, the problem may simply be that we need to get "re-charged".  Keeping our schedules overbooked, staying busy "doing things", going here and there -- it takes a toll after a while. Before we get stressed out and burned out, we need to learn to take some time to unwind and recharge.  Turn off the radio and the television. Oh, and the computer, too!  Unplug the telephone if you need to, or better yet, get away from the house (without the cell phone).  

 Take some time as a Human Being and not a Human Doing.
 Spend some quiet time with God in prayer and reflection on His Word.
 
 Here is another possible solution: change your perspective. The things we complain about can also be our greatest blessings. What is worse than being too busy? Having nothing to do. What is more painful than to give away something we own?  Having nothing to give away. What is harder than dragging ourselves out of bed to serve someone in need? Being the person who is in the bed and totally dependent upon compassionate help. What is harder than being brought to our knees by the demands of those around us for our time and energy? Being on our knees asking for help, guidance, strength or health.

If neither of these options works for you, consider the power of prayer.
Perhaps this Prayer for Purpose by Julie Rattey might help.

What path would You have me take today, Lord?
Where would you have me go?
Whom would you have me be?

Help me to listen for your voice, O Lord –
In the places I go, in the people I meet, in the silence of my heart –
To know my purpose on this journey with you.

Like the good servant who used the talents he was given for his master’s benefit,
Let me not bury my purpose in the ground
But grant me the courage to bring it to the light,
To use in the service of your people.

Remind me that You are with me, Lord
With every step I take,
And that no purpose is greater than choosing the path
You have set for me
Today, tomorrow and always.

Don’t forget to recharge your spiritual and emotional batteries this month.
And watch out for Lucille.