News from Lifeline Dallas
By Jesse Stroup, Director of Spiritual Care, Lifeline Chaplaincy Dallas
Songs live in our heads and in our hearts. Songs help us get through tough times and also express the feelings of our hearts. While jogging, I try to repeat verses from Psalms. The verses that I recall the easiest are Psalms that I know a melody for like Psalm 95, “Come let us sing with joy to the Lord;” Psalm 121, “Unto the hills around do I lift up;” and Psalm 148, “Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah!”
While visiting with a patient he said, “My great-grandmother who lived in Mexico taught my mother ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ and my mother taught it to me.” “While our three sons were growing up, my wife and I taught them ‘We Shall See the King Someday.’” “Now they are teaching hymns to our ten grandchildren.” “I love to sing,” he said, and I replied, “I do, too.” As he was saying good-bye to me, this frail gentleman said, “I’ll see you when Jesus returns.” What a good ending to this patient phone visit. Thank you for helping make meaningful conversations like this available for seriously ill patients and me through Lifeline Chaplaincy.
In November, Lifeline Dallas averaged forty-two patient phone visits per week. Seven volunteers from Dallas participated in our Volunteer Retreat at Camp Allen where we sang these two songs, “On Eagle’s Wings”, by M. Joncus and “L’Chi Lach,” a Jewish song by Debbie Friedman.
