One reason I love hospice is because of the stories I hear. When I look into the eyes of my patients I see the light of their lifetime shining back at me, there are experiences inside that light I will never have, wisdom I will never personally learn and so I ask. “Tell me about your life; tell me where you came from, what you loved most.” Often people will take a moment to reflect and then share. It is a sacred moment, to be witness to the story of a life. I hold my breath and wait because I know that something special is about to emerge.

One woman told me about traveling by herself as a teenager in Russia on her way to visit relatives in Poland and when she got off the train to relieve herself the train pulled away with everything she owned, more importantly her papers to cross the border. What could she do? She began to walk in the direction she wanted to go following the train tracks and Fate stepped in. She came to a place where the road converged and an old salt truck was coming towards her.  The young man inside stopped to offer her a ride. When she explained her plight, he hid her beneath his load of salt getting her safely across the border and to her relatives. They eventually married! And with a twinkle in her eyes she said, “We had so much fun!”

I often think of her, she has since passed away reunited with her beloved. What a wonderful story!  Because somewhere, sometime in our lives there will be a train that leaves us seemingly abandoned, without anything we feel we need to navigate to our destination. We need to remember to keep moving and to have faith and ask for help. The spiritual world and Life itself will provide us with everything we need and it might just be fun!