Journal of Sacred Work

.  For thirty years the night staff exiting towards The Toledo Hospital parking lot could count on a morning ray of love.  In summer light or snowy darkness they regularly received a cheerful greeting from a unique fellow caregiver with a short body & a tall spirit.  

   As Martha Chapman walked towards the information desk to begin her day she would say a bright, "Good morning!" to every departing night-shifter.

   "It seemed to help," Martha told me. "But, one person always walked by with her head down. I greeted her anyway."

   Why send rays of kindness into indifferent shadows?

   "One cold morning the silent woman handed me a note & kept walking," my sister shared. "It said, 'I am so shy that I could never answer your greeting. You kindness every day always meant so much. Thank you.'"

   We underestimate our potential impact. For decades, Martha changed her hospital's culture by raising the light – not by being a doctor injecting 50 cubic centimeters of medicine but by improving everyone's brain chemistry with her thousand-megawatt smile (on display in this picture) & her loving presence. 

   Harried caregivers often say, "I haven't got time to give loving care." Help them by sharing this story.

   Martha's daily kindnesses illustrate what Radical Loving Care is all about. In precious moments each day her rays of love ignited hope in others – including one shy & grateful being. 

-Erie Chapman

Note: Martha just celebrated her birthday on February 15.