by Lynette Mull, Director of Strategic Development & Mission Advancement

Yesterday there was a beautiful outpouring of love, appreciation and support among our staff via email, which I posted here. If you’re curious about what the Gentle Shepherd Hospice work experience is like, be sure to read it.

This morning, Kim Eckenroth, our wonderful co-founder, responded with her own perspective…


“Thank you for those heartfelt thoughts. We cannot tell you all enough what you mean to our lives. The work and responsibilities God has called Don and I to have been made even more fulfilling because of the partners he has brought to work alongside of us.  You guys are part of us, an extension of our lives. Your family is our family. 
 
This year, Don and I will be married for 40 years, which allows us to look back over long periods of time with perspective – a gift as one ages. These past 25 years of providing hospice care have been a great blessing to the people we have been called to serve.  
 
These years have also been a great blessing to us. You know on the days you wish the phone would stop ringing because you are so tired and you now have another home visit to make? You need to see the patient but wish you could go home? You make the visit and as your feet leave their doorstep you feel guilty you ever wanted to go home because the patient just spoke life into your heart? That is how we feel about you all. The blessing you all are to our lives has been monumental. 
 
It is like an arithmetic equation. We each serve as a number added and along with the Holy Spirit, our sum is exponentially larger, stronger, wiser and more life-impacting in our community. Yes, we are all greater together than as individuals!
 
Mary will be sending our updated staff prayer list out shortly. Please remember to pray for our requests as you drive down the road of life.
 
Blessings over each of you today,
Kim

To wrap this up, I’m going to share just one more thing from our email in-box. Every day, Michelle McCormick, our new executive administrator of admissions, sends us a thoughtful or inspirational “word of the day,” to meditate on. Here is today’s…

“I am going to piggy back off of Kim’s email today for the word of the day. The word is PERSPECTIVE. Sometimes when we are in a situation, we may only see it with tunnel vision. Then, once we are out of it, we can see it from a totally new perspective. I love that God allows us to look back over our lives, to realize our growth. He also reminds us in subtle ways how blessed we are to be where we are in this very moment.

When I think about what we do here, sometimes I am in awe that we actually make it all work like we do. But then I remember that God knew exactly what he was doing by placing us all in our own unique niche. I have been “training” for this moment for many years it seems, and didn’t even know it until this year! Perspective… hmmmm…”

What does your perspective reveal about the journey of your life?