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Home » Vision » May-June 2013 » Chaplain finds a path to hope with haiku

Chaplain finds a path to hope with haiku

By Pat Van Den Heuvel, BCC

Vision-theme-logo-2013-may-jun

Chaplain Pat Van Den Heuvel found the book, “Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope,” by Sister Joan Chittister, OSB, helpful in mental health ministry. In the haiku poems below, Ms. Van Den Heuvel passes on gems she gleaned from the book.

Struggle with Mental Illness Hope with a Path
1. CHANGE happens too fast
Knocking the wind out of me
Not seen or wanted
CONVERSION means what
Being aware of options
Chose to be open
2. ISOLATION hides
Understanding escapes me
Alone in the struggle
INDEPENDENT How
Reaching out despite feelings
Bondage no more
3. DARKNESS overwhelms
Wrestling the soul’s spirit
Heart is cracked open
FAITH believes in truth
Trusting a Higher Power
Brightens up the way
4. FEAR paralyzes
Apprehending the future
Stuck in the present
COURAGE is fear-less
Saying “God Give Me Guts” helps
“Liquid “ courage does not
5. POWERLESSNESS steals
Hoping no longer is despair
PLEASE do not go there
SURRENDER with peace
Giving in not up is Huge
Freedom’s power trip
6. VINCIBILITY fragile
Exposing hurtful baggage
Cripples inner child
LIMITATIONS How
Defining your boundaries
Helps to keep you safe
7. EXHAUSTION from nerves
Suffering anxiety
Sleep is depleted
ENDURANCE sustains
Persevering not running
Relax in the pace
8. SCARRED and injured
Shaming is so damaging
Illness is rampant
TRANSFORMATION”S here
Scarring can produce wisdom
Tough lesson to learn

Note from Pat: When I worked in behavioral health for 10 years as a chaplain, one of the most helpful spirituality groups was what we called the “hope group.”

Using Sister Joan’s book, I simply would invite the patients to share their struggles. Then I would number a board 1-8 under the title called “Struggle” and show the downward spiral that we can all relate to. After landing at the bottom with a “Scar,” the option was given to create a “Hope” column. Once again I numbered 1-8 on the “Hope” side, actually comparing the one side with the other. Patients were free to draw their own conclusions about where they were presently and where they would like to go with “hope.” That’s it in a nutshell without all the fun and laughter and drama and sometimes tears, shared by all. The reason that this article is in haiku is because I thought it would be the easiest way to condense Sr. Joan’s book (I was wrong!). In the actual “hope group,” I used just the first words from both columns and proceeded from there.

Pat Van Den Heuvel of Two Harbors, MN, was in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years, before working 10 years as a chaplain at Miller Dwan Medical Center, Essentia, in Duluth, MN. She retired recently. She reports that in 2012 Tim Serban, disaster spiritual care volunteer lead, recruited her to deploy to New Jersey as part of the Disaster Spiritual Care Team of the American Red Cross Team following Hurricane Sandy’s devastation.

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