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Chaplain Joan Keiser on the sweetness that can be God’s presence
A Cupful of Sugar...
She peeped her head slowly over the soft-sided restraints that were protecting her as I knocked and entered the room. She was a very pretty young woman with a lovely smile that welcomed me into her room.
She was being monitored for seizures which had not been diagnosed for four years.
Her life was a series of “ups and downs” as she waited to find out what was going on with her body. Life changed dramatically after her seizures were diagnosed. She was unable to drive and it was difficult at times to take care of her two small children.
She told me that her parents had divorced when she was young. She lived with her father who took good care of her. It seemed life was most difficult for her at night time. It was tough for her to go to sleep at night as she missed her mother. Her father would tell her a story and then place a “cup of sugar” on the table beside her bed so she would have “sweet dreams.”
After being diagnosed with a seizure disorder, she felt as if her life had been “paused.”
She wasn’t able to work much and was trying to make sense out of what she could do with her life and indeed how she could go on . . . take care of her family.
In the midst of waiting, she discovered hope as she began to put her thoughts down on paper. She wrote a book entitled, A Cupful of Sugar. It took courage but she endeavored to find someone to publish her book and was successful. Of course, the book was her own story.
She has since entered poetry contests on the internet and has had three of those published.
As she continued to reflect on her life, she told me that, perhaps the most interesting aspect of her writing success is that she failed English in school. She got a “big “F.”
God has blessed her with a beautiful gift of writing and her stories and her poems will bless the lives of others and give them hope. More importantly, God has given her the courage to go on with her life and at the same time to give to others.
Many times, failure can stop us from trying. We give up on ourselves. I believe her father taught her how to get through difficult circumstances in life – taught her that how we think as we journey through stressful times can be that which enables us to survive.
A cupful of sugar is used in so many recipes but is, no doubt, an important ingredient to each of us as we go through life. God’s love poured out to us is like that “cupful of sugar”. As we go through “dark” times in our lives, what a comfort it is to know that we can have a “cupful of sugar” nearby which we call God’s presence.
Chaplain Joan Keiser has been the chaplain at St. John's Hospital, Springfield, MO, for the past 10 years. She completed her four units of CPE at St. John's Hospital. Joan has a certificate of Religious Studies from Loyola Institute for Ministry, Loyola University, New Orleans. She is a Certified Lay Speaker and is commissioned as Lay Missioner with The United Methodist Church, Missouri Conference. Her areas of hospital ministry are: Neuro-Trauma ICU, Neuro-Intermediate/Stroke Center, Breast Center, and Endoscopy. Joan also serves on the Springfield Stroke Coalition and is a member of the Mid-America Transplant Collaborative for Organ Donation, representing St. John's Hospital. She is currently applying for Board certification. She is married, has two children and six grandchildren.
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