One of Each

Last week while On Call, I think I had one of each kind of page. One power of attorney call, one one-of-a-kind request, one pastoral visit with a patient and family in distress, several kinds of traumas (motor vehicle types), and seven (yes, seven) deaths. Seven is a new record for number of deaths in one on-call period.

The thing is, each death was unique. Each one had it's own deeply sad moments. Each one had it's bizarre set of complications. There was the fetal demise, the octogenarian grandmother, the newly retired sister, the middle aged mother, the long lost adopted dad, the newlywed bride, and the young adult father. Each one had it's own family dynamics that affected the survivors' responses. Each one affected the nurses and staff in a different way. Each one had its own theological personality.

And each one was a sacred experience. A holy honor that brought me to tears when I finally got time to process it all, and I'm still processing it.

I hope that no death ever becomes "ordinary."
Rest eternal grant to them, O Lord; And let light perpetual shine upon them. - BCP 502

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Ps 139:13 (The Message)

How is God's uniqueness appearing in your life, in this moment?