A Lenten Devotion by Shelly Cichowlas
Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
In the summer of 1977 my best friend and I decided we wanted to be candy stripers at the hospital in downtown Idaho Falls. We found a couple of obstacles; one being the required age of 14 (we were barely 12) and the other being the distance of nearly 5 miles. Since we both had ten-speed bicycles, the travel part was fairly easily solved. Being two years too young was resolved when my friend’s older sister forged our mother’s signature on the permission form. We reasoned it was for a good purpose, how would they ever find out we were too young, we both looked older than our age. I know this is the part where I should have felt guilty lying, but any feelings of remorse were dissolved when I received my striped pinafore and began helping in the long-term care ward of the hospital.
Each week I would look forward to seeing my “patients” and doing all the things they enjoyed doing together; reading them letters, holding their hands, bringing fresh water, and playing the piano in the dining hall. My favorite part of this time together was listening to them and asking questions about their lives. I loved to hear about the work they did, people they loved and often missed, as well as the ones in pictures by their bedsides.
Sometimes their stories would make them talk for a long time, smile and seem more peaceful afterwards. And other times talking about the past would make them cry. (In retrospect, this may likely have been the beginning of my call to being a mental health counselor) Being present for someone in pain is not an easy task for any age, especially a 12 year-old. Often my bike rides home were spent thinking about the stories and people that I sat with. Sometimes I smiled remembering and other times I would cry. But always I remember singing something that helped me to turn it all over to God. I knew that God would know what to do to comfort and protect them while I was away.
My candy-striping days ended the day my mother, a nursing student assigned to the same hospital, found out the minimum age for volunteering was 14 and figured out I had lied about my age. My mother took me to the volunteer coordinator and made me tell the truth. I cried as I apologized, not as much out of embarrassment of being caught lying, but more out of the sadness I felt about not being able to see my patients.
After I was told they couldn’t allow me to stay, I received a package in the mail with a letter from the hospital telling me they were going to miss me and hoped I would come back when I turned 14. Though my family moved from Idaho to Colorado the next year and I couldn’t return, the memories have stayed with me to this day.
Loving God, thank you for the sometimes-difficult lessons we learn as children that help us to grow into the people we become. Amen