Ministry of a Warm Blanket

Many times, I’ve visited with a patient who simply needed a kind word and a warm blanket. A couple weeks ago, while chatting with a patient who was experiencing anxiety about an upcoming procedure, I noticed she was shaky. I realized after a minute that she was just cold. I offered to fetch a warm blanket and she gratefully accepted. Finding the blanket heater on each floor is quite important for this reason. It’s small acts, driven by empathy and compassion, that embody goodness.

The hospital where I did my internship had really great quilts to offer patients on Comfort Care. Their families were encouraged to take the blankets home after the loved one died as a keepsake of the sacred moment. One family requested three blankets, and took turns putting them on the patient. I thought swapping out the quilts was a bit much, but I did not say anything. Peace in the kingdom for that family likely had everything to do with the perception that no one got something that someone else did not also get. Families need each other during times of grief. Families grieve best together. Tranquility was worth two extra blankets that time.

The quilts at that particular hospital were hand-made by a small army of crafty volunteers during COVID. The blankets were kept in cupboards around the hospital. Once, I gave a beautiful one to a patient who was not on Comfort Care, but was in genuine need of kindness to get through a miserable moment. I wonder if the volunteers ever knew how important the COVID-quilts were to those who received one.

A small gift of mercy does not have to be a warm blanket. It can also be a crossword puzzle, coloring pages, a journal, or a bit of light reading. I received a call from a unit nurse asking for a Danielle Steele novel for a patient. I was able to quickly find one on the donated book cart. The patient was delighted when I delivered it, saying, “Oh, I haven’t read this one.” Spirit moves in mysterious ways.

Ministry is simple: it is doing good things, little and big things, for others. The motivation to be in ministry for me comes from a heart-felt belief in unconditional love, compassion, and empathy, which is informed by a powerful spiritual experience I had years ago while at mass. This does not make me an angel or a saint- I am certainly neither. God can keep the halo. But like others who dedicate their lives to service, I feel a calling that inspires me to act.

What does ministry mean to you?