Grace

I hadn’t slept all night.  This has been one of the hardest (emotionally) work weeks I’ve had.  Sick patients, attentive (read….demanding….) families and lots of communication issues.

One family had been especially difficult, and I (and the case managers, nurses and social workers) were at our wits’ end-and we were all starting to get a bit snarky. I was asked to speak to another family member on the mainland to “sort it all out.”  I agreed to call the next day, then worried all night about the call. I expected it to be another emotional rollercoaster, wrought with angst, blame and contention.

The work day was filled with other crises and urgent issues….so I didn’t call till late in the day.

And was met with grace. The family member was so gracious, solicitous and genuinely grateful for the care given, that I became very unprofessional…..and burst into tears during the conversation.

A horrible workweek dissolved, and I went home feeling–well, not happy, but not like a complete failure, either.

Like our salvation, I hadn’t earned it-and my thoughts of the family earlier in the week, which were not very generous, actually should have bought me some fire and brimstone!

Pastor Dick used to have a screen saver on his office computer. Scrolling across the screen were the (edited) words of political speech writer James Carville:

It’s Grace, Stupid!

Grace. Thanks, I needed that.