The Gift of Presence

The late Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and author of several books on death and dying, told the true story of an old woman who worked for many years in a Chicago hospital, mopping floors. She noticed that whenever this woman left the room of a dying patient, that patient always, without exception, was happier and more at peace than before she had entered.

Having observed this happen again and again over a period of time, Dr. Kubler-Ross was determined to find out what was going on. She invited the old woman to her office for a conference. As they talked, she discovered that this poor, uneducated, wrinkled cleaning woman had faced a great deal of poverty, suffering, and tragedy in her life.

In fact, the woman shared that her three-year-old son died in her arms while she had waited in a public health clinic for him to be treated for pneumonia. “You see, doctor,’ the old woman said, “Dying patients are just like old acquaintances to me, and I’m not afraid to touch them, to talk with them, or to offer them hope.”

Ultimately one of our greatest gifts to the world around us is hope. Not blind hope that pretends everything is fine and refuses to acknowledge how things are. But the kind of hope that comes from staring pain and suffering right in the eyes and refusing to believe that this is all there is. Hope that comes not from going around suffering – but going through it and recognizing God even in the midst of it.

I pray today that you would trust that God is with you even in the darkest moments of life. And, may you be willing to walk with others through theirs. Your presence, your hope, and your faith are a real gift. As we share these gifts, our own faith and hope deepen.

Let us pray: There is no doubt, O God, that you have blessed us beyond measure. As we notice these blessings, may we live and give out of this abundance. In Christ’s name. Amen.