Sync and Sanctify Every Moment

Sync and Sanctify Every Moment

In honor of Spiritual/Pastoral Care Week, Gilchrist chaplain Roslyn Sellman shares a reflection on the work she does, and an encouragement for others.

Thomas Merton writes, “The true inner self must be drawn up like a jewel from the bottom of the sea, rescued from confusion, from indistinction, from immersion in the common, the nondescript, the trivial, the sordid, the evanescent.”

Our Promise

I recall stories after stories about our patients who live in the tension between being their true selves and the desire to please; constructing a false self into something objectively real. It is this false perception that Chaplaincy seeks to break down. Our promise of authenticity in care leaves room for our patients to sync up with their true selves: that real person, with fears, hopes, and promises they have dared not to express in fear of judgment. Chaplain’s work seeks to liberate people from the internalized conversations and stories to which they have been recruited. Chaplaincy offers a non-judgmental presence that strengthens the family and social networks. It promotes practices of self-awareness that enable individuals to sync to their true selves.

Absent our agendas, we utilize evidence-based practices to engage with the sacred space of grief. Moreover, we use our trues selves as the instrument of healing. Kahlil Gibran once noted, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” Unapologetically broken, we understand it is our very brokenness that creates spaces of empathy, compassion, and the skill to listen as an act of love. Extraordinary healing occurs when two people authentically sync and join experiences, allowing for the daily newness of life to be experienced.  

Needed Encouragement

We, Chaplains, encourage you to sync. Access the files that have been smothered in destructive constructs. Sync with the precious jewel within you that is waiting for the light of your truth. Sync from the files of your scars and celebrate the cherished character your experiences have shaped. Come out of private storage clouds and into the world that awaits your true self. The world needs us to sync to our true selves. Sync to each other for others! 

Sync and sanctify every precious moment of your life!   

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