They became silent

He said to them, 'Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's.' And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent. Luke 20:25-26

The morning was filled with important information that any new employee needs to know. Safety, emergency procedures, security protocols, that kind of thing. My new employee-mates by my side, we slogged through it and completed the obligatory evaluation forms. I listened in silence. I could not wait to get to the real work.

Over lunch we completed a daunting task: the on-call schedule for all nine chaplains on the team. For me, the tension of picking dates that would work and avoiding dates that would not work while trying to swallow my lunch was not an easy thing. I listened in silence. I could not wait to get to the real work.

Next, we found our work space. Got our 139 page handbook. Learned how to do computer work (emails, server access, charting, etc.). We sat in a group and reviewed on-call protocols. What to do when x happens, what about y, who do we call if ... Then we tried on our soft-wear that will identify us as chaplains. Attractive short white coats. I listened in silence. I could not wait to get to the real work.

Here's another article to read before next week. More clarification about writing our first assignment that is due on Friday. Here's the next year's planning. I listened in silence. I could not wait to get to the real work.

Then it was time to go home. Oh, I guess I did do real work today. I tried to be present in every moment. I laughed at my colleague's jokes. I panicked thinking about my first on-call. I clarified how to do some computer stuff for another colleague. I was human. I listened in silence.

Did I give to God the things that are God's?