This Week's Reflection for Hope and Resilience

This is part of a series of weekly messages of hope and resilience that will be made available through Employee Connections and printed copies for those who do not have easy access to computers. Read last week's reflection here.

There is a story about heaven and hell.

Once there was a group of people who died and went to hell. For them, hell was like this:

They were seated at a large table that was lavished with all sorts of savory foods. They were hungry.

But, this being hell, they had no elbows. They could pick up the food, but, try as they might, they could not get the food to their mouths. So for them, hell was being in front of wonderful food, being hungry, but not being able to feed themselves.

There is another group of people who died and went to heaven. For them, heaven was like this:

They were seated at a large table that was lavished with all sorts of savory foods. They were hungry.

But, just as it was in hell, they had no elbows. Try as they might, they could not feed themselves.

So ... they reached across the table and fed one another.

This story presents a vision of life where heaven and hell are not so much a set of circumstances, but heaven and hell happen in our response to the circumstance – something that manifests in our mind and heart in response to what’s going on.

In this vision of life, hell is a state of being where we feel alone, isolated, separated from life and from other people. In this vision of life, heaven is a state of being where we are living in deep communion with life, where we have community with our fellow women and men.

I’m often moved by patients' comments about the wonderful staff we have at Methodist Hospital. So many people have had a deep experience of healing, not just from the medical expertise, but by the kindness showed them by staff at every level – nurses, environmental service staff, doctors, food service staff, therapists – all who work here. The Methodist culture is a unique community – oriented toward emphasizing kindness and care for patients, families and one another.

Below is a note left by an employee who was helped by Methodist Hospital Foundation:

"My family and I want to thank you all for being the people you are and helping people in need. You helped me with my car registration, and now my husband and I can keep working. I have been here for two years, and I have been shown so much love. God bless you guys, and thank you for all that you do."

I’m very grateful for the loving and deep community – a kind of heaven – that we have been cultivating over the years at Methodist Hospital.

- Chaplain Mike McMahon, Methodist Hospital

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We know these are difficult times. If you would like to speak with a chaplain for support, please feel free to reach out.

Methodist Hospital and Methodist Women’s Hospital: Call Operator “0” and ask for the chaplain to be paged.

Methodist Fremont Health: Call Scott Jensen at (402) 290-1408.