Healthy Perspectives: Ebola

If we are honest with ourselves, most of us will steer clear of anything to do with Ebola. But, not all of us can do that. Many medical personnel, international development agency folks, and chaplains are preparing to serve whether that is in clinics throughout infected areas of West Africa or here in the US where returning personnel may need quarantine or treatment.

Of the 35 currently designated treatment centers for Ebola in the US, 2 are located in Pennsylvania; one at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and the other at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Earlier this month, I attended a discussion on, “Ebola and Chaplains’ Roles in Hospital Planning”, a presentation offered to the Spirituality, Religion & Health Interest Group at HUP, one of the two.

The presentations given that day touched my heart as I considered the challenges a chaplain might face in trying to assist the hospital, the medical staff, the patients and their families from a spiritual perspective. These challenges include:

· Issues of staff self-neglect due to the “high stakes, high stress” environment

· Public stigma experienced by families

· Weakened family support for patients

Overriding all of these issues is the common denominator of fear. And, chaplains are often enlisted to abate fear by combating hype, dispelling myths and offering prayer. Beyond their better known role of providing the spiritual component of caring for a patient, in a crisis a chaplain might also be expected to attend to the spiritual needs of families and of the hospital staff. Armed with compassion, universal respect for all beliefs and a loving spiritual approach, chaplains are in a unique position to assist.

In their rounds chaplains endeavor to provide a calm presence. They strive to bring a sense of love and compassion to every effort. A chaplain makes time for the little things that give feelings of warmth and comfort to a patient. They might open a curtain to allow light into a room or include some casual conversation during a visit and a loving smile is universally employed to open the lines of communication. Prayer is always available and is helpful in strengthening our human connection to divine Love. The Bible says, in I John, “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

The relationship between us and divine Love goes beyond comfort; it goes to the very heart of healing. Prayer opens the door to that understanding. Then, as we reach out to more fully grasp our relationship to divine Love, we find health and harmony.

On the wall of a church building I once read that, “Divine Love always has met and always will meet every human need.” A struggling single mother at the time, I took those words to heart and spent time pondering their deeper meaning. I began to understand that I really could trust God to meet my needs. The result was an increase in good health and a decrease in the amount of fear I felt. Incidents of illness that for years came with regularity fell to the level of rare.

And, when that rare illness did arise, I found I now had a new defense. I could pray, connect with divine Love and in short order find myself completely well.

Below is the first verse of a poem titled, “Mother’s Evening Prayer” that I frequently use to begin my prayer.

O gentle presence, peace and joy and power;

O Life divine, that owns each waiting hour,

Thou Love that guards the nestling’s faltering flight!

Keep Thou my child on upward wing tonight.

(Mary Baker Eddy)

I imagine every chaplain out there has a beloved prayer that refreshes and sustains him or her in an hour of need. The fear and overwhelming demands that the Ebola crisis has placed on whole nations, communities, families and medical personnel are a test of our time. Divine Love is equal to that test.

Debby Kowit blogs on the link between spirituality and wellness and the positive impact of healthy thinking on our lives. She is the media and legislative liaison for Christian Science in Pennsylvania. You can follow her on Twitter @PAComPub

Accompanying photo © GLOW IMAGES