On letting go of the pager.

The other day at (hospital) work, I reflected on carrying a pager.

When we chaplains are working, we carry pagers and respond to the pages. We can never, or at least I can never, plan our days beyond, “If I have a chance, I’ll do that, depending on the pager.” Even when talking with a family in the moments after a death, we are carrying a pager, aware of the world outside this moment. Our priority is here. But we are also aware of there. Because the trauma arriving may be, has been, our ne...