Nurses are called…and we are answering.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

~ 1 Corinthians 15:58 ~

Many people would say that nursing is a job just like all other jobs and a profession which nurses made the choice to enter, nurses make good money and can live comfortably, don’t have to worry with a job as there are many nursing jobs, and nursing has some many options.   

And these statements are true but nursing is so much more.  It’s a calling…my calling.  A calling that as nurse’s week comes to an end, I’ve reflected on.  Over the past several weeks, I’ve had very sick patients,  rapid response calls, days with three discharges and four admissions, patients with pain meds every hour, and the list could go on and on.  I’ve left at the end of long shifts wondering if I really made a difference for my patients and if I did my best are letting people see Jesus in my place.  Through God’s grace he used this week to remind me nursing is a privilege and calling. 

I’ve seen death and worse…its messy, its hard, its gross, but most of all, its brokenness at its finest.  This week I reflected on why I keep coming back.  The answer is being able to see beyond all the sadness, secretions, chaos, complaining and see that this work is so much more than completion of tasks.  It’s a unique position of being able to let people see Jesus as the Great Physician through your action of listening, touching, validating and soothing.    

I never truly understood the power of touching until the day I hugged a patient with AIDS.  Watching an adult burst into tears just because you offered a hug and told them that you cared about them and shared the love of Jesus.  It’s heartbreaking and will bring you to tears at the thought of someone feeling so worthless but this is God’s unending Grace and Love through Jesus!  And that, my friends is glorious and makes the call to nursing worth it! 

I’ve learned in my five years of nursing that listening is as much of a skill as starting an IV.  While gaining competence is important, doing nursing well is more like participating in an intricate dance, relating and responding to my patients with humility and patience.  Even though many days are difficult, focus on what is beautiful and scared in our nursing career, occasionally catching a glimpse of what lies just below the surface of our ordinary days of caring for our patients. 

We are called…and we are answering.