Journal of Sacred Work

Caregivers have superpowers! Radical Loving Care illuminates the divine truth that caregiving is not just a job. It is Sacred Work.

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Former President & CEO of multiple hospital systems and founding president & CEO of 20-hospital OhioHealth, best selling author, film artist, ordained minister, composer, published poet, syndicated T.V. host, trial attorney, federal prosecutor and Municipal Court Judge. Erie is internationally known as the founder of the Radical Loving Care(R)movement. He also heads Erie Chapman Foundation, Dane Dakota Productions, LLC, and Chapman Health International, Inc.

Recent Posts

About

Former President & CEO of multiple hospital systems and founding president & CEO of 20-hospital OhioHealth, best selling author, film artist, ordained minister, composer, published poet, syndicated T.V. host, trial attorney, federal prosecutor and Municipal Court Judge. Erie is internationally known as the founder of the Radical Loving Care(R)movement. He also heads Erie Chapman Foundation, Dane Dakota Productions, LLC, and Chapman Health International, Inc.

Day 256 – God at Work

"What we strive for/ in perfection/ is not what turns us/ into the lit angel/ we desire,// what disturbs/ and then nourishes/has everything/ we need." – David Whyte (from The House of Belonging)

God-at-work-4    "We don't want people practicing religion here at work," I heard an executive say recently. "Keep your faith to yourself." I suppose this leader was trying to prevent employees here in the Bible Belt of Tennessee from evangelizing. But his message runs the great risk of being misinterpreted.

   Living God at work does not require that we bring a particular religion into our workplace. Yet, it breaks my heart to think that loving caregivers somehow feel that have to leave God in the car when they begin their job.

   Since God is Love, why would we leave God behind? If we are not living our faith as we labor, what are we living?

   Indeed, as Yale Divinity School Professor David Miller points out in his book, God at Work, the faith at work movement in America has deep roots. We can not only live our faith at work but need to if we are going to preserve the vitality of our souls.

   Fortunately, as Whyte points out, Love does not call us to perform perfectly. Courageous caregivers understand that their best efforts to be present to patients will nourish themselves as well as their patients.

   Whyte writes to all of us in a stanza I have quoted before, here: "Inside everyone/ is a great shout of joy/ waiting to be born."

   This "great shout" is the voice of Love. May we let this voice flow through us and into the hearts of others on this day and every day.

   What does it mean to you to bring God to your work?

-Erie Chapman 

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3 responses to “Day 256 – God at Work”

  1. ~liz Wessel Avatar
    ~liz Wessel

    “Living God at work does not require that we bring a particular religion into our workplace,” and that is the beauty of Love, which is non-denominational, knows no boundaries, is inclusive of all, and whose miraculous energy has the power to transform us.
    I listened to a “Speaking of Faith” pod cast in which, yoga teacher Seane Corn was interviewed by Krista Tippit. Seane’s definition of prayer really struck a chord within me. She said, “I don’t ask God to change my experience, I ask God to change my perception about my experience.” Ah-hah, this is the crux of my struggles, herein lies the lesson for me, to recognize that part of being alive is to accept the pain of loss and feelings of emptiness. I am asleep to what is happening here if I want to be over there. To want, to want something other than what is…is to miss being present in my life, to miss recognizing the fullness and mystery that is in all. My prayer has become a sincere desire and a willingness that I may SEE differently.
    What does it mean to bring God to my work? It means that as I reach out with an open heart, I turn towards Love and away from fear. It means that I see the person in front of me as someone real who has dreams, aspirations and challenges just like my own. It means that the person, who unsettles, disturbs or angers me, holds a lesson for me. For the person in front of me may be the part of me I have been running from, and as I offer compassion, I can receive compassion. Now beyond the silence of my words, let me act, let me live Love.

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  2. Julie Laverdiere Avatar
    Julie Laverdiere

    I couldn’t do my job unless I allowed God to speak to me. It is difficult often to see my patients who are struggling with the deep seeded wounds of war. But, God does help to let me be pleasant and welcoming as much as I can. And, I couldn’t do that without the grace of God at work. Blessings.

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  3. Rosemary Thomas, RN Avatar
    Rosemary Thomas, RN

    I have been Blessed to experience God at Work in all I have come in contact with over the years. Several years ago, I was at a Mass during lent where a prayer was prayed afterward in Adoration of The Wounds of Christ. I asked the Priest afterwards if I could have a copy and my heart and soul added a bit to it and made a few changes. From that day that it became a song in my heart, I began singing it at the beginning of the day. The following is what I have found brings God into every type of work I might be doing and makes that same work an offering to God:
    (refrain):
    O Sacrament Most Holy,
    O Sacrament Divine,
    All Praise and All Thanksgiving
    be every moment Thine!
    I Adore The Wounds of Thy Sacred Head, with sorrow deep and true.
    May every thought of mine today be an act of love for You! (refrain)
    I Adore The Wound of Thy Sacred Shoulder, with sorrow deep and true.
    May every burden that I bear today be an act of love for You!
    (refrain)
    I Adore The Wounds of Thy Sacred Hands, with sorrow deep and true.
    May all the work of my hands today be an act of love for You!
    (refrain)
    I Adore The Wounds of Thy Sacred Knees, with sorrow deep and true.
    May every bending of my knees today be an act of love for You!
    (refrain)
    I Adore The Wounds of Thy Sacred Feet, with sorrow deep and true.
    May every step I take today be an act of love for You!
    (refrain)
    I Adore The Wound of Thy Sacred Chest, with sorrow deep and true.
    May every breath I take today be an act of love for You!
    (refrain)
    I Adore The Wound of Thy Sacred Heart, with sorrow deep and true.
    May every beat of my heart today be an act of love for You!
    (refrain)
    I pray the above will Bless others as it has and continues to Bless me!
    Rosemary Thomas, RN

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