What a beautiful story! We will ALL die....

[Sunshine]

Such a wonderful account of how this chaplain helps people die with 'dignity' although I don't think that word is used. Why are we so afraid to talk to the dying? Is it because we have to face our own mortality? She is right, though, the dying usually want to talk about their families. That silly song by Tim McGraw, Live Like You Are Dying has a good messge for the how the living should live along the way, but most who find out they are dying don't really want to go 'Rocky Mountain climing, and sky diving', they just want that time with their families!~ Take time and read the entire article. It's worth the read. I think even the non religious can appreciate it.

As a divinity school student, I had just started working as a student chaplain at a cancer hospital when my professor asked me about my work. I was 26 years old and still learning what a chaplain did.

A week later, in the middle of a lecture in this professor's packed class, he started to tell a story about a student he once met who was a chaplain intern at a hospital.

“And I asked her, 'What exactly do you do as a chaplain?' And she replied, 'Well, I talk to people about their families.'” He paused for effect. “And that was this student's understanding of faith! That was as deep as this person's spiritual life went! Talking about other people's families!”

Today, 13 years later, I am a hospice chaplain. I visit people who are dying – in their homes, in hospitals, in nursing homes. And if you were to ask me the same question - What do people who are sick and dying talk about with the chaplain? – I, without hesitation or uncertainty, would give you the same answer. Mostly, they talk about their families: about their mothers and fathers, their sons and daughters.

They talk about the love they felt, and the love they gave. Often they talk about love they did not receive, or the love they did not know how to offer, the love they withheld, or maybe never felt for the ones they should have loved unconditionally.

My Faith: What people talk about before they die – CNN Belief Blog - CNN.com Blogs