There are many ways to serve our community. One fulfilling avenue is through hospice volunteering. What does a hospice volunteer do?
- preparing simple meals
- reading to the patient
- helping write letters
- listening/emotional support
- doing simple household tasks
- relieving the caregiver for short periods
Most volunteers visit their families once or twice a week and will be given as many or as few hospice patients and families as desired. Volunteers usually follow the patient’s loved ones throughout the bereavement period. (from hospicetouch.com)
Hospice volunteers can be creative, too. Some are great at making cakes. Others provide pet therapy, which usually involves dogs, or rabbits. Some sing, or play instruments. I have seen folks do all these things. It is beautiful when the Holy Spirit nudges us to do or say something, and we respond.
I find that there is a special connection with families when I spend time with them in their homes. It is usually so absolutely unexpected for someone to knock on their door, and not be there to get something, such as a handout, or for payment on a late bill. We human beings have a strong desire for deep connections. I’ve seen it a hundred times.
What is going on in our spirits that makes these encounters so meaningful? Why is it like pouring water into a dry potted plant? Why do we wait until we are at the end of our lives before we welcome visitors? Do we, who don’t think we are at the end of life, value privacy over connection? Does something happen to us when we are faced with the end of life that makes us value human connection?
This is holy week, also called passion week. When Jesus was getting ready to leave his disciples, He told them many things. He spoke a lot, and some of it is written down in the bible. He became passionate about their loving one another after He left them. There was much to say.
And, after His resurrection, and after a month or so, He prepared them for His ascension (a more permanent leaving), by authorizing them to tell other humans about Him, grace and real living. My point is that Jesus spoke at length right before His 33 years on earth ended. What do we need to say that we are putting off?
More to the point for hospice volunteers, or potential volunteers, in Matthew 25, when the sheep asked Jesus, “Lord when did we clothe you, or visit you in prison or while sick,” Jesus responds, “when you did it to the least of these you did it unto Me.”
