Uphill idealist

About a year ago I was completing an internship at Lutheran Social Services for my pastoral counseling course. My internship involved learning the duties associated with ministering in a nursing and long-term care facility, helping with on-site worship services and visiting residents with various needs and health issues. One of the most challenging aspects of visitation was always keeping to the present. My mentor carefully chose the residents for me to visit. Some people I had been assigned were quite alert. One lady was quite young and was there to recuperate from a badly broken leg. Several people on my list were recipients of butterfly magnets that were fixed to the metal nameplate on their room doors. The butterfly magnets were given to residents that were in the process of dying. They were presented to the resident in order to give an opportunity for the ministry staff to discuss important spiritual matters concerning rebirth and renewal in heaven. The butterfly magnets also help...

Tipsy So much seems to have fallen In my lap. So much change that needs to Happen - and fast. So much progress that is invisible to see. So much of what I do is what if, and what could be. Visions I see seem invisible to others. Visions I see are just impossible to recover. Visions of beauty, community and faith – Slipping through my hands at increasing rates. So much life In days and in lores. So much effort and input and chores. So much is uncertain and teetering me. Visions I see are the opposite of What eyes witness and what ears document. Visions of restoration, recreation and right. It all will happen, but rush it and maybe not might. Rushing deters the dreams of what could be and what should be with love. Slow down to nurture, to tend to too - with patient gardener's gloves. The garden I tend isn't filled with hoes and carts. The garden I work in is the unpredictable human heart. Copyright T.L. Eastman 2007