Pray for those who help

There are many professions that deal with tragic situations. Most of us only face a crisis a few times in a lifetime. Most of us know of someone who has faced a tragedy that we have not faced. Natural disasters, fires, heart attacks, strokes, accidents and injuries happen all the time. Have you considered how first responders, doctors, nurses, clergy and others deal with their emotions?

My mom worked a full-time job for McDonnell Douglas, so I spent a lot of time with my aging grandparents. Once, late at night, my grandmother suffered a stroke. We called for help and two EMTs came with a stretcher to take her to the hospital. One of the men was thin with curly hair, and the other was large and heavy set. I overheard the smaller man remark that they needed hernia insurance as they began to lift my overweight grandmother. My family and I were offended.

Later, at the hospital, I confronted the larger man about what had happened and how upset we were. He apologized and said that being an overweight person himself, he found the remark to be in poor taste. Then he explained that they use humor to ease the emotionally draining nature of their work. I had never thought about that.

As a voluntary police chaplain, I witness this coping technique in an even more stressful profession. Did you stop and pray for our police officers today? When they leave home for their shift, they never know for certain that they will come home alive. Many of them are married with children. They protect and serve our community with modest pay and little respect. I am thankful that most people in our region appreciate law enforcement.

You may be surprised to learn that pastors are not much different from these other professions. Sometimes we find humor in things that nonclergy would not understand. Before I became a pastor, I was troubled when I heard a pastor say, "I would rather do a funeral than a wedding." While I still would not say those words, I understand that weddings are a lot more difficult than most people realize. However, funerals can take an emotional toll.

Before my wife began a career in education, she became a licensed practical nurse. One of the lessons she learned was the difference between empathy and sympathy. Empathy is experiencing suffering along with others, while sympathy is caring about what they are going through without personally feeling the pain.

As a pastor, I had to learn to show sympathy and reserve empathy. People in the helping professions have to maintain an emotional distance to better serve others. This is especially true of medical doctors.

When I was on staff at First Baptist Church of Paducah, Kentucky, I became friends with several physicians.

I ran into one of our doctors at an area hospital, and he asked if I had time to visit a family, from Ohio, who just learned that their 8-year-old daughter had cancer. I quickly found them and ministered. They were appreciative of my presence and prayer. They said they did not know the doctor was a person of faith and that he did not say much to them.

Not long after that, another staff member and I ran into this pediatric oncologist at a restaurant. He informed us he was taking another position in a different city. He shared with us how he had been cleaning out his office and spending time over the children's case files while weeping and praying. All the family from Ohio saw was a cold professional, but he was a man filled with love and compassion.

Pray for the people who help us during the worst days of our lives. They deal with tragedy on a daily basis. I believe God calls people to these helping professions like he calls people to be missionaries and pastors.

"Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches." 1 Corinthians 7:17.

May God bless them with spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health as they help us.