By Bridget Deegan-Krause
For the busy healthcare leader, the cell phone is as important a tool as any piece of complex diagnostic equipment. For some it serves as a distraction or even an obsession. But for most of us it is a tool for connection.
Covered with fingerprints, our cell phone is something we touch more than we touch our loved ones. The stuff of our lives is there. Our work. Things that inspire us. Images and words exchange with people we love. For many of us, some of the most significant moments of our lives have been held in this small device.
As you hold it tenderly, consider what it holds for you. A text from a grieving friend. Work plans. An important medical update. A grocery list. An image of a beloved.
Consider what this device allows you as a leader to accomplish each day. Managing people. Staying on track. Filtering out what really needs your attention.
Consider as well how it allows work to infuse every nook and cranny of our lives, if we let it. Thus from time to time, it needs to be put in its place.
In some communities, a traditional Labor Day “blessing of tools” has included tool boxes, drafting supplies, a vacuum cleaner, a firefighter’s coat — all coupled with a prayerful call to remember those who use these tools for their work. Honoring the busy healthcare leaders of today, the Mission: Day by Day team offers this reflection and blessing of one of your most important tools.
For Individual or Team Reflection
- Each day in our work in Catholic healthcare we are invited to find the sacred in all things. How does this tool remind you of something sacred in your work?
- Now consider the phone, or mobile device, of the person with whom you work each day. Notice it in their hands. What comes their way? What responsibilities do they have? What do they have to hold on to?
- Finally, consider too the phone of someone who is struggling. What do they await? What would they rather not see?
Cell Phone Blessing
Loving God,
I hold in my hands
a tool for connection.
Today it will bring me
the information I need
to serve those
entrusted to my care.
As I use this tool,
direct my gaze
to all that deserves
my best attention.
If today
it serves as a distraction,
help me to put it
in its proper place.
And if today
it burdens me,
help me to work through
the pressing responsibilities,
the hurts and hopes,
and place them in your hands
where they belong.
You have blessed me with good work
and the tools to do it.
Bless this tool,
and all that it holds for me.
©2015 Leadership Formation Partners, used with permission
Bridget Deegan-Krause, BCC, is a managing partner of Leadership Formation Partners, the creators of Mission: Day by Day, a ministry formation program for leaders in Catholic healthcare. Learn more at lfpnow.com.
