This past week I had the unfortunate experience of having to spend a significant number of hours in the Emergency Department of a busy suburban hospital. I was there supporting a family member, who is not often unwell and needed a friendly face and second set of ears to help them navigate the experience over a number of days. In that time I observed a wide variety of people and the ways they responded to the situation they found themselves in.

There were the hardworking triage staff tasked with determining the seriousness of the cases being presented and having to choose who gets seen next. The grace and focus they gave to each of the people as they told their tales of woe was evident despite the lateness of the hour and the length of their shift.

They remained composed and diligent even when people argued with them over their perceived priority or when they were accused of racism, sexism and ignorance when people weren’t getting what they wanted in the timeframe they desired. I watched their banter and communication with their team members when they had a moment of respite and realised that those moments of levity helped make the moments of intensity bearable.

I watched relationships form between previous strangers who were gathered in this waiting room of indeterminable length. As people were called for their long awaited opportunity to have their ailment seen to they were farewelled with calls of “good luck” and “hope you feel better soon”. One of the people was there supporting her partner, but took it upon herself to make sure one of the unattended elderly patients wasn’t being forgotten in the long list of people waiting.

There was the young man who was there because he assaulted his care workers and was therefore evicted from his supported accomodation. The staff had simply brought him to the hospital and left him there, basically washing their hands of him. I know this because every phone call he had he chose to use the speaker phone feature so we all became familiar with his plight and difficulties. At one point the security staff came to ask him to be quieter … it was 12:30am after all.

Once we were in the cubicles we discovered nursing staff who were kind and reassuring, explaining everything they were doing or going to do. They would make jokes to build rapport and continue smiling even if the monitors started indicating something of concern. When the orderly came to transport patients there was more kindness and comments about trusting their driving skills. I watched people explaining what they were doing to people who appeared to be asleep or unconscious.

The biggest delight in staff encounters came from the most unexpected source while my family member was being driven in their bed for a scan. I was waiting in the cubicle for their return when the cleaning cart came around the corner and this happy-faced older woman greeted me with, “Good morning, dear. I am just going to do some things in this space but I don’t want you to move an inch or lift a finger. I will work around you, all you need to do is relax.” She deftly wiped and swept and mopped and changed the bin liner, all with a sweet, engaging smile.

When she was done, she asked if there was anything she could get me while I was waiting. I let her know I was fine, and I am fairly confident that request exceeded her documented responsibilities. I thanked her for her diligent job and the demeanour with which she performed it, and she seemed surprised I would even notice. I was thinking about what her job entails and how she could have approached it. She chose instead to be full of grace, positivity and compassion.

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 and verse 10 it implores us to “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might …” A lot of the people I have written about here seemed to be living up to this verse, whether they knew they were or not. Each one had a different role to play in the wider picture.

If you imagine a hierarchy of important tasks, very often the cleaner would be listed near the bottom, although go without a cleaner for a few days and see how that list changes! Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what others think of what we do, it’s what WE think of it that makes the difference in how we carry out our duties and the blessings they unintentionally bring.

Sometimes we are required to do tasks that are not seen as important or life-affirming, but when we take the attitude that we are a vital part in a larger machine we can see what we do as helping to change the world for the better.

Be blessed.