My name is Rev. Nicole Smith and I am a chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC). Hospital ministry is not something I imagine doing when God called me into full-time ministry.
I did not believe I could handle being in the hospital, especially at a trauma 1 hospital…
be present with people in the most vulnerable time of their life…
I do not always know what to say or do in my interaction with people. One thing for sure I depend on the Holy Spirit to lead me and work through me in every situation. The most powerful tool I have when visiting someone who is sick is my ears.
It is okay to allow people to feel what they are feeling in that moment…
It is okay to mourn with those who mourn. In John 11:35, “Jesus wept,” after he was moved by the grief of Mary and the people who was with her. We cannot control the results, but we can trust that God is working. One last word, do not hesitate to pray because prayer can bring comfort.
Rev. Nicole Smith is a Chaplain at Hennepin County Medical Center. She has her MDiv. from Bethel Seminary.
When Tears Fall
Poem by Rev. Nicole Smith
When tears fall,
Down the hills of your cheeks,
Rolls down sorrow, pain and joy.
It is more than raw emotions.
Tears is a healing balm,
A balm in Gilead,
That rolls into the valves of your heart
That reaches deep into your soul.
In each tear drop there is a story,
A story that is caught into His hands,
The hands of the creator who gives careful attention to each one.
Not one tear is lost.
When the tears fall,
The tension can release and
You can be free to be.