"Palliative Care"

“Palliative Care”

In my chaplaincy role with hospice and now in a hospital setting I’ve become familiar with palliative care. It refers to a specialized branch of medicine ministering to people afflicted with life-limiting conditions. Its roots can be traced back to 1948 in England when Dr. Cicely Saunders began to focus her practice on the terminally ill. It emphasizes bringing physical and emotional care to patients in order to provide a better quality of life to them and their families during life-threatening illnesses. The service is rendered in homes, care facilities and hospitals and utilizes care teams (physicians, nurses, aides, therapists, social workers, chaplains and volunteers) to bring support and comfort. (The hospital in which I now work has a dedicated Palliative Care Unit as do several nursing homes with which I’m familiar.) Many patients (including Karen’s mother and my father) have been served well by this approach which has brought relief to them as well as their families in their final days.

God often furnishes His version of palliative care to His people. The Apostle Paul is a case in point. In 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 he states that he was given “…a thorn in the flesh….” from which he asked the Lord’s deliverance three times. But God’s response was, “My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). While the Lord healed some (e.g. Peter’s mother-in-law, a man with a useless arm and a lame man on the temple’s steps) He didn’t do so with Paul. Rather He provided His palliative care by giving the strength to bear this burden so that His servant could say, “…When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10).

Our church’s choir sang an anthem in April which contains the line, “Sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms His child.” In other words, God may bring curative care (i.e. deliverance from a struggle) but in other situations His provision is palliative care (help through a struggle). In either case He brings peace “…which surpasses all understanding….” (Philippians 4:7, NKJV) by His power and love.

One of the titles given to the Holy Spirit is “Comforter”. So you and I as God’s people have a divine Palliative Caregiver living in us “…to be with (us) forever….” (John 14:16). Let’s thank God for His provision of help in all circumstances of life.

Grace and Blessings!

Jim McMillan