One of the most difficult and humbling aspects of my job is being with them through and in difficult times. Today was a stark reminder of that. I'm part of a writing group that meets at my church and today an older retired minister was there sharing some of his writing, including pieces he wrote about his experiences in WWII.
I also found out today he suffers from Parkinson Disease. Today as he was sharing a piece of his writing he started shaking uncontrollably (an effect of the Parkinson) and he stopped reading and started to cry from frustration, anger, sadness and I'm sure a multitude of reasons.
I ended up reading his second piece aloud for him and it was a stark reminder that in this profession I am privy to some of the rawest of human emotions. People open up and share with me their fears and struggles and it's sometimes really hard to know the appropriate way to respond. I'm still learning.
A good reminder on this Ash Wednesday the start of the lenten journey.
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2 comments:
That is heartbreaking.
In my old job, I filled a similar role. I found that even though I was there with people during the rawest emotions and the worst of times, there was something powerful and positive about helping them out during those times. It's such an important role, and I know they are lucky to have you there with them.
I think knowing how to respond is always hard...because it's always different, whether the circumstance or the person and how they handle what's going on.
I agree with Queenie about how awesome it is to be there for those people and to help them through.
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