As part of my CPE experience, I am the chaplain on-call one night per week and two Saturdays & two Sundays throughout the summer. Having several of the nights and one Saturday behind me, I've realized that life on-call bears a striking resemblance to life with chronic illness.
It's an unpredictable existence in both cases, the pager can go off at any second, pain or fatigue can strike as they please. Sure I can make rounds in the ICU's and ER to anticipate anything critical or imminent, I can take my meds, get plenty of rest & exercise, but there is still always the uncertainty, the unknown, sheer surprises that can subvert my life in the moment and force me in a new direction. I can't live in constant wondering or fear, the pager could go off anytime, the pain could come anytime. So I am challenged to live my life sans anxious anticipation, learning to go with the flow and take what God hands me in each moment. Knowing in any experience that God's grace is sufficient.
I'm not sure if my life of chronic illness has in some way prepared me for the on-call experience or if drawing the parallel is what prepares me, but I am thankful for this perspective and always amazed at the way God exists in the details of my life.
2 comments:
CPE is great, isn't it!? So, what does "on-call" mean for you at your hospital. I've heard different placements have very different meanings of that, so I'd love to hear what it means at your hospital...I'm on-call tomorrow at the hospital - woohoo!!!
hey Karen...
i'm busy scouring friends' blogs to see what i'm in for as i start a CPE experience here in SA. Wish me luck!
Hope all is well over the ocean!
PS - if Fred has a passport maybe i can photograph him here 'in Africa' - or has he been to KEnya already?
Post a Comment