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McGuire, one of five full-time chaplains at Joliet Area Community Hospice, has recently released his first book "Stay: Four Pillars for Living Life and Finishing Well." And McGuire credits his wife for inspiring the book. "My wife Kim has really encouraged me through the years," McGuire said. "She thought people could benefit from the experience and the lessons learned." But that doesn't mean McGuire immediately began writing. He did assure Kim that "when he had something to write, he would write." Then one day, about three years ago, McGuire sat at the kitchen table with his iPad and began putting down his thoughts. "I started with 10 lessons and then I thought that was too many And then I went to seven and that was still many," McGuire said. It also doesn't mean McGuire is focusing his book on death. The focus is life, he insisted, not death. In McGuire's forward, he said even when he ministers to dying, he helps them live in the present. McGuire finally settled on four key elements he's learned from his years as a hospice chaplain. Here they are, which McGuire terms "four pillars:"
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Stay focused McGuire said with so much information coming at people from all sides all the time, staying focused can be hard to do. But he also feels people could have better relationships with loved ones and attain their career goals if they stop "wasting time with peripheral non-essentials." "Sometimes it helps us to remember, 'What is the main thing?'" McGuire said. Stay calm Sometimes people respond to every crisis as if the house if on fire, McGuire said. And sometimes the dissonance comes from people doing too much and feeling as if they are responsible for everything. "We all have challenges," McGuire said. "How do we remain calm in the midst of them? In the book, I will give you some ideas on how to maintain calmness." Stay humble Regardless of a person's stage of life, that person will navigate life better if he or she is willing to recognize limitations and accept help from another, McGuire said. "The people in our life who say, 'I don't want anybody's help' tend to make more challenging work or living environments," McGuire said. Stay true to yourself In addition to information overload, people are also bombarded with the message they are inadequate and need improvement, McGuire said. "The truer we can stay to ourselves points to, I think, a more enjoyable life," McGuire said. But staying true to oneself doesn't mean not closing oneself off to opportunities, as McGuire well knows.
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McGuire, whose background is congregational (parish) ministry, spent his first 11 years as a minister serving local churches. He came to New Lenox almost two decades ago to plant Living Way Church. Being part of a church plant necessitated McGuire find additional work to support himself and his family. McGuire said he first inquired at the hospital now known as AMITA Saint Joseph Medical Center and the chaplain at the time suggested McGuire check out Joliet Area Community Hospice. But hospital chaplaincy was not McGuire's background. He assumed he would work that ministry until Living Way stabilized. But nine years later, the church had not grown beyond half a dozen families. The church was closed, but McGuire's hospice ministry flourished, and he's thankful it did. "This is a sacred trust for me," McGuire said. "I feel hospice is a sacred trust." McGuire said he meets people in the community who, even years later, remember him as the person who made the difference in a loved one's dying, the one prayed with them. He feels blessed by the opportunity. "They welcome me and allow me to have a small part of the last few days of their journey," McGuire said. KNOW MORE "Stay: Four Pillars for Living Life and Finishing Well," is available on Amazon. For a signed copy and more information, email Rev. Jim McGuire at James McGuire at jtmcguire63@gmail.com.