After experiencing the death or loss of a beloved client, it is time to restore our faith and hope in humanity. Providing a renewed sense of strength, purpose, and resolve for all of us as we help one another.
Covid-19 and its variants have affected many of us. Over the last few days, I have been greatly impacted by the loss of a client that myself and my team have come to love and appreciate. We gave our all to them and we were close to getting them housing. Then, two nights ago, we heard of our beloved client’s passing.
After the death or loss of a client we serve, it can be easy to doubt our effectiveness. It is difficult to come to terms with something so final and definitive as death. If we are not careful, we risk losing sight of the horizon.
We must take care to remember that the most powerful forces in life aren’t tangible in nature. They are not defined or limited by ones passing. If we so choose, we can make sure that their lives continue to serve a purpose.
“People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but People will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou
With this quote in mind, we may yet find peace, hope, and a renewed sense of faith. The question is…how did we make these clients feel?
Through our efforts, clients are able to feel safe and experience a bed, a roof over their heads, and an abundance of food. Perhaps most importantly, they can begin to trust us and to experience a sense of self-worth all because we extended our hand. In this way we advocate for them and send them a message that they are valued, respected, and deserving of our help.
Many of our clients have chosen to live alone and on the streets for years. We can only guess as to the reasons for this. But at least for some, after the cumulative experience of receiving kindness from us and witnessing our advocacy for their well-being…they accept shelter from us and additional help where we can provide it.
Even with their untimely death, there is light and a place for a miracle. I know. This is where it begins to hurt. This is where we are at risk of misunderstanding the miracle. And if we continue to misunderstand where our real power exists, then we risk losing faith and hope in who we are, what we are called to do, and why we are called to do it.
It is in how we enabled our clients to feel in this past year that matters. I believe we fulfilled our calling and brought peace to them before their passing. We enabled them to feel loved and valued. They witnessed our efforts as a team on their behalf. In this way we restored their faith in themselves and in mankind.
So, what are we to do now? How do we ensure that this experience is not for nothing?
We do this by remembering our story and our shared experiences with the clients we serve. The miracle of our interactions with them goes both ways. We might have been a miracle for them, but they were also a miracle for us. Reminding us that we have the power to affect how people feel. It is in changing peoples minds about themselves and the world around them, that we affect real change.
I hope that my reflections can help us restore ourselves. May we continue to have a renewed sense of strength and purpose in what we do, faith in the process, and hope for the people and the community we serve.
To those clients we have lost, thank you for what you have given us. You came to us just in time. You are remembered and you have revived us and reminded us of our true strength. You have renewed our faith, strengthened our resolve, and re-ignited our purpose. Amen.
Thanks for Reading. Sincerely,
Kurt Petersen