Pieces of The Puzzle

When walking through the center in Houghton, Mark (one of the managers) called me into the office to show me a DVD project he'd just completed. Looking over his shoulder I watched footage of Mother Teresa walking the grounds of Hospice Wits with staff members, and addressing them in one of the rooms of the center. She had visited with them in the 1980's. He had no idea of the significance of the moment...

One of my tasks on our trip here is to talk with the whole staff about the importance of each person's role in Hospice Wits, as well as our connection with one another. I do this by sharing a few stories about puzzle pieces and the fact that each one of us comes as 10,000 piece jigsaw puzzle...yet, on average, we come missing about seven pieces to complete our puzzle - while, on average, having about seven extra pieces belonging to other people's puzzles needed for their own wholeness. We end the time by having everyone pin one another with lovely gold puzzle piece pins we brought with us. It is quite a sight to see everyone - from the CEO to the gatekeeper - walking around adorning their gold puzzle pieces.

At the end of this presentation with the first center's staff I shared about Mark showing me the DVD. I shared with them about the honor of being asked to pick Mother Teresa up from the airport when I was but eighteen years old. When she got into the passenger's seat and I returned to the driver's seat she looked right into my eyes and said, "So what are you doing with your life?" Needless to say, during the ride I received one of the pieces that would greatly influence my life. To the staff I said, "I cannot tell you what it means to me to be standing here with you in this very space, thirty seven years after Mother Teresa asked me that question, talking with you about caring for people at the end of life...just as she did." I am still not sure I have completely grasped the moment. I feel as if I have been honored with the sacred task of carrying forth the baton on this journey, through which Mother Teresa so shaped the world.

-Terri