We are in this together
The following passage was written by Texas Children’s Chaplain James Denham.
Over the past 6 months, I have been struck by one word over and over again – “we.” It is used all over the place in our communications and our encouragements, but it has not been overused. In fact, I hope it is used even more.
When the word “we” has been used in this column, it has been used not just to refer to us as a group of people, or as a categorical description. “We” implies a togetherness. It implies that no matter what our category is in this place and in our families, no matter our role, we are together. We laugh together. We wear masks together. We stand up for justice for our communities together. We cry together. We grieve together. We celebrate treatment progresses and family milestones together. “We” implies that we are stronger together than we are individually. “We” implies that your heart and mine and everyone else’s is inextricably linked together.
As the chaplains here at Texas Children’s, we have been more than blessed to watch your togetherness at work, even as we apart physically. We see your resilience even if you don’t. We have watched you dare to smile, even when you yourself may not have felt so joyful. We have watched your tirelessness, even when you felt exhausted. We have been moved by your shared hope for a thriving future, even when it has been hard. We have watched your enduring love for others, even when you felt so drained. In other words, we see the “we” of the people here and the people we serve. Often, when we ask mothers and fathers and caregivers how they get through tough times, they don’t have elaborate answers and most of time say it’s simply because they love their kids. It is true for you too! We have continued providing, caring, researching, hoping, working, adjusting, treating, problem solving, and serving because we are in this together. Our unity and togetherness compel us to do and move forward, even when we don’t know how to keep on.
We continue to be gifted with the opportunity to see our togetherness. We chaplains have loved writing these words of encouragement and pointing out just how beautiful our unity is. That unity, that togetherness will continue and it will continue to compel you and us, no matter how long or drawn out this pandemic will be. In the Winnie the Pooh story where he and Christopher Robin are talking, Pooh-Bear expresses his uncertainty of being apart. Christopher Robin says, “Oh, Pooh. If ever there’s a tomorrow when we’re not together, there’s something you must remember. You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is even if we’re apart, I’ll always be with you.” Yes! Even when we feel hard pressed …YOU, and WE, are braver, stronger, and smarter than we could ever give ourselves, because as Christopher Robin implies, our presence remains with each other in every moment and so we stand together and unified by our spirit and connection to each other. We give each other great hope!
This is our last Words of the Week, and we have been immensely blessed to encourage one another in these past few months. In these reflections, we have written about our resilience through appreciating the ordinary, random acts of kindness, the power of play, our support systems, our courage, and our spirituality. But in all of it, in every message, was a deep, resounding, resilient “we” that endures! In our ongoing work, in our ongoing life, may we continue to find strength always in that togetherness!