When a hospice nurse dies it reminds us that we indeed are still human despite the work we do everyday at death’s door, one day that door will open for us as well. Most of us push that notion aside and provide care and comfort for others while doing God’s work. Beneath the façade we know its true, someday someone will hold the door open for us and we will walk into eternity…

Yesterday we said goodbye to a sister in hospice nursing. Her family and friends crowded the venue and us sisters of hospice sat at the edge listening to stories of love and laughter about our coworker we were not aware of. It was lovely and bittersweet, she was a force of nature, fiercely loved as she will be fiercely missed. It made my heart full to know that on the other side of her work day she went home to a world of love, laughter, and support.

I knew her only through our work, we supported each other in times of challenges and shared laughter at the absurdity of it all. She shared a little of her personal life, her challenges at home were just that.

I lamented to another hospice nurse that I wished I had known her better and she reminded me that we each have a place in each other’s lives- mine was to be a sister in hospice, that was enough, that was important, that was where she needed me.

It is an incredible bond, there are a dozen plus of us on our hospice team, there is inherent respect and love as we navigate the challenges of the corporate world and the human heart. There is a strength in numbers, we buoy each other with compassion and respect. And we stand together sharing our hearts to say goodbye to a sister who has flown into the world of the angels.