The following is a note passed on to me by Senior Chaplain Eric Smith of THR – Harris Methodist Hospitals and used with permission. May you look back with blessing on the past and forward with joy to the future. Christ is with us! -Bishop Mike Lowry
mpassion and purpose. The Chaplains offer words of encouragement. They share the appreciative words of post-operative patients that these caregivers rarely get to hear.
Twenty-five heroes in green silently await their turns. Their hands are large and small, calloused and smooth. Most respond with a quiet, “Thank you.” A few tears are shed. Each of them exits the room and walks into another busy day doing their very best to restore people to health. They will do so with blessed hands.
Chaplain Timothy Madison
December 13, 2011
A Blessing for Heroes in Green
Still dark and cold outside, but already the “good guys in green” shuffle in for another 12-hour day. These are the men and women who work in surgery at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth. Ahead of them is a day of relieving suffering and saving lives of people whom they may never have a conversation. These dedicated professionals will again walk the thin line between moving as quickly as possible and working as close to perfection as they can. They perform this feat on a daily basis without a net. They will do it on this particular Tuesday in December and again on Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, early in the morning and in the deepest hours of night. But for just a few moments, they will pause to receive a blessing, a blessing of the hands. This is a ritual provided to employees throughout the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospitals by your appointed Chaplains. Warm water representing the Source of life and healing, the loving God, is poured over each staff member’s hands. A prayer is spoken, asking God to bless these hands in their important work of caring for the sick and wounded, asking God to fill these hearts with co
mpassion and purpose. The Chaplains offer words of encouragement. They share the appreciative words of post-operative patients that these caregivers rarely get to hear.
Twenty-five heroes in green silently await their turns. Their hands are large and small, calloused and smooth. Most respond with a quiet, “Thank you.” A few tears are shed. Each of them exits the room and walks into another busy day doing their very best to restore people to health. They will do so with blessed hands.
Chaplain Timothy Madison
December 13, 2011