Healing Touch is a Gift

If you were asked to name the greatest gift of mankind, what would you name?

I think the answer would depend on your personal needs.

For example, if you were abused physically, as many of us were, you might say the gift of loving touch is the greatest gift of mankind.

I was recently in the position where I was able to evaluate the different grades of nurses from the bottom classification, CNAs, to the top of the chain, RNs (registered nurses).

RNs have the most nursing education, yet some are not the best caregivers. Some state-registered nurses have the attitude of logging in for their eight hours and getting through a work shift without any 'episodes.'

During my recent observation, it was not a registered nurse who displayed the greatest gift, the gift of soothing touch, but someone who was simply assisting in the care of hospital patients.

My most memorable example was Lisa, a health care corporate executive helping patients during the busy holiday season. 

When a particular patient went into a full-blown panic attack, Lisa calmly sat bedside, calmly rubbing the patient's back in loving circles.  Within two minutes, the panic attack was over!

Lisa had the gift of gentle, loving and healing touch.  Not every trained and licensed health care professional has such a healing gift.

Those who have been physically abused know what I mean when I say that the greatest gift of mankind is the gift of touch. In a way, a healing touch helps to compensate for what the abused had to endure as children.

Touch, however, is not the greatest gift to the world. Jesus is our greatest gift from God with the ultimate healing touch for humankind.

When we recognize the gifts of mankind, though, the gift of human-to-human healing touch is surely at the very top of the list!