Awhile back, I responded to an overhead code for an elderly patient who was quickly declining in condition.  While I supported the family, the patient’s niece sat silently against the wall observing her aunt after she had been extubated.

“Would you like to move your chair closer to your aunt’s bedside and hold her hand?” I asked.

“No,” she responded, “I am fine here.  I know my comfort zone.”

Standing a few moments in silence at her side, I finally approached the patient’s bedside, placed my hand on her shoulder, and whispered prayers and blessings until she breathed her last.

As caregivers, one of the greatest challenges is being and bringing comfort in the uncomfortable.  We work in traumatic and sometimes tragic circumstances, serving as the bridge to offer some type of comfort to those enduring uncomfortable situations.

How then, as caregivers, can we ourselves find the necessary support?  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 explains, “Praise be to the God…the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”  We can trust that our Lord will comfort us when He calls us to comfort those around us.

Comforting God, no matter the trials we face today or in the days ahead, we ask that You give us what we need to deal appropriately with these challenges.  In Your name we pray, Amen.