My Journey to Become a Hospital Chaplain

By offering a listening and empathetic presence, the chaplain acknowledges that every patient is unique and precious. When someone hits a crisis in life, hospitalization, illness, and even death of a loved one, than it's the chaplain's task to companion the patient, and "leadeth (them) beside the still waters" towards hope and healing. As a chaplain who provides spiritual support in the hospital environment to patients, family members, and hospital staff, the author gained many experiences, which he describes as "bordering on the sacred." The journey to become a chaplain has been truly transformative, he writes, and "opened my heart to others, brought me closer to our Heavenly Parent, and according to my wife, made me a more sensitive listener and a better husband. Basically I would say that the journey to become a chaplain has made me a better human being."