Summer of 2013
I am learning a lot in this season. This summer has been one of transition for me. Transition in so many ways that sometimes when I stop to think about it I get overwhelmed, but when I look back at what I have walked through I am overwhelmed in a different way, but God's grace to help me thrive through it all.
Just to give you a brief synopsis, in the past 2 months I have graduated nursing school, moved out of my parents house (again), worked full time, and been a part of my sister's wedding. Not to mention, in between all of that I studied like a crazy person in order to pass my nursing boards, which I did so successfully! (yay!) If that wasn't enough, things aren't in danger of slowing down anytime soon. This week I started a new job as a registered nurse which is both exciting and terrifying, and in about a week I will be moving back in with my parents for what I sincerely hope is the very last time. (I moved out temporarily over the summer to make room for out of town family visiting for my sister's wedding).
Getting through all of that has been a challenge to say the least, but I took it one thing at a time and that made all the difference. There have been a lot of things I didn't expect throughout all of this; pleasant surprises that I know the Lord added to the mix to remind me His plans for me are awesome, and that he isn't surprised by the way things have turned out.
First of all, I have to say that the Lord has given me so much favor! This seems to be a theme, as he likes to remind me that I am worth it, but each time I am blown away by it. In the beginning of the summer I knew I needed to pick up some hours at work in order to make ends meet. I had no idea how I was going to get the hours I needed since I was a relief employee and didn't have guaranteed hours. Fortunately for me, one of my coworkers had her baby and is on FMLA for the summer. Guess who was able to pick up almost all of her shifts? That was my first surprise. My second one has been ongoing as I have worked over the summer. The Lord has opened my eyes and is giving me lots of revelation in the arena of healthcare. I have routinely been someone who viewed working in the ministry as a "higher" sort of calling for a Christian, and have maintained that I didn't "just" want to be a nurse, that I believed the Lord had called me to something greater. I never would have admitted that to anyone, but I felt that way deep down. Since working over the summer the Lord has been showing me in fresh ways how working in the hospital IS a ministry. I have had more opportunities to love on people in the past 2 months than I have in a very long time. I am seeing the needs of others and not just looking at nursing as a secular job or career, but as a calling and a ministry. That doesn't mean that I tell all my patients about Jesus or pray with every single one, but mostly that just by me being in an environment and carrying Jesus with me everywhere I go, the atmosphere is changed. I am finally excited about what the Lord has called me too! It has taken awhile.. for a long time I was simply continuing with nursing school out of obedience to what I knew the Lord had told me to do, but my heart wasn't in it. I love nursing, but I love missions more, and it wasn't till recently that I really grasped that healthcare is a HUGE mission field. There is an incredible amount of need and I can't believe that I get to be a part of meeting those needs.
I am also really learning to take care of myself in a more purposeful way this summer. Mostly this has meant taking care of my emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. I am working on taking better care of myself physically as well but the other things have needed to come first. There are ups and downs but I am definitely in a better place. I have stepped back from a lot of things that I was involved in and spent a lot of time evaluating things in my life and deciding what needed to go and what needed to stay or be added. I am learning to say "no" and to not feel guilty about it, and I am definitely learning to communicate my needs better. I cannot expect people to read my mind.
I feel like there is a lot more I could share but it gets confusing and would take a long time to explain away the confusion. I admit that I am very tired, and I still have sad moments, however, those sad moments don't have to define me or my life anymore. I am not a sad person by nature, even though life's circumstances had tried to bring me down. God has brought me through the fire and created a pearl of great price. =) I try to take things one day at a time and to love Jesus, myself, and others, seeing myself and others the way the Lord sees us. This helps me get through, and I am learning so much through the process. =)
-Jessie
Just to give you a brief synopsis, in the past 2 months I have graduated nursing school, moved out of my parents house (again), worked full time, and been a part of my sister's wedding. Not to mention, in between all of that I studied like a crazy person in order to pass my nursing boards, which I did so successfully! (yay!) If that wasn't enough, things aren't in danger of slowing down anytime soon. This week I started a new job as a registered nurse which is both exciting and terrifying, and in about a week I will be moving back in with my parents for what I sincerely hope is the very last time. (I moved out temporarily over the summer to make room for out of town family visiting for my sister's wedding).
Getting through all of that has been a challenge to say the least, but I took it one thing at a time and that made all the difference. There have been a lot of things I didn't expect throughout all of this; pleasant surprises that I know the Lord added to the mix to remind me His plans for me are awesome, and that he isn't surprised by the way things have turned out.
First of all, I have to say that the Lord has given me so much favor! This seems to be a theme, as he likes to remind me that I am worth it, but each time I am blown away by it. In the beginning of the summer I knew I needed to pick up some hours at work in order to make ends meet. I had no idea how I was going to get the hours I needed since I was a relief employee and didn't have guaranteed hours. Fortunately for me, one of my coworkers had her baby and is on FMLA for the summer. Guess who was able to pick up almost all of her shifts? That was my first surprise. My second one has been ongoing as I have worked over the summer. The Lord has opened my eyes and is giving me lots of revelation in the arena of healthcare. I have routinely been someone who viewed working in the ministry as a "higher" sort of calling for a Christian, and have maintained that I didn't "just" want to be a nurse, that I believed the Lord had called me to something greater. I never would have admitted that to anyone, but I felt that way deep down. Since working over the summer the Lord has been showing me in fresh ways how working in the hospital IS a ministry. I have had more opportunities to love on people in the past 2 months than I have in a very long time. I am seeing the needs of others and not just looking at nursing as a secular job or career, but as a calling and a ministry. That doesn't mean that I tell all my patients about Jesus or pray with every single one, but mostly that just by me being in an environment and carrying Jesus with me everywhere I go, the atmosphere is changed. I am finally excited about what the Lord has called me too! It has taken awhile.. for a long time I was simply continuing with nursing school out of obedience to what I knew the Lord had told me to do, but my heart wasn't in it. I love nursing, but I love missions more, and it wasn't till recently that I really grasped that healthcare is a HUGE mission field. There is an incredible amount of need and I can't believe that I get to be a part of meeting those needs.
I am also really learning to take care of myself in a more purposeful way this summer. Mostly this has meant taking care of my emotional, mental, and spiritual needs. I am working on taking better care of myself physically as well but the other things have needed to come first. There are ups and downs but I am definitely in a better place. I have stepped back from a lot of things that I was involved in and spent a lot of time evaluating things in my life and deciding what needed to go and what needed to stay or be added. I am learning to say "no" and to not feel guilty about it, and I am definitely learning to communicate my needs better. I cannot expect people to read my mind.
I feel like there is a lot more I could share but it gets confusing and would take a long time to explain away the confusion. I admit that I am very tired, and I still have sad moments, however, those sad moments don't have to define me or my life anymore. I am not a sad person by nature, even though life's circumstances had tried to bring me down. God has brought me through the fire and created a pearl of great price. =) I try to take things one day at a time and to love Jesus, myself, and others, seeing myself and others the way the Lord sees us. This helps me get through, and I am learning so much through the process. =)
-Jessie
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