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Back To Business

I guess it is about time to get back to writing.  Six months of being "absentia," now it's time to let my thoughts and fingers flow again.  But just like letting ground lay fallow for a season or so may actually improve the fertility and longevity of the field, I am hopeful that  my writing will produce a bounty of encouragement and joy to those few who choose to read the messages of my heart . . .

I have found that the best things in life are the relationships we have with one another.  I am blessed to be a nurse, legally defined as a RN, but by true definition "one called to care."  Over the years, I have had the privilege of working along side some very special nurses.  As a nurse, I know that often we are myopic when it comes to our own needs, as we tend to focus on others put before us who seem to require much more care and concern.  Yet, it is such a blessing to actually be the one who receives the care and encouragement.  I have found that when I receive that healing  I am empowered and strengthened to go on.  . .


Case in point, I have discovered the necessity of being intentional.  For relationships to thrive you must be intentional and set aside the time to be with one another.  I know we live in the world of texting, tweeting, instagramming, etc., but there is nothing like setting aside a Saturday afternoon for tea.  Even if it turns out to be the hottest Saturday of the summer, tea time seems to set the tone for actually listening and sharing conversation.  All of sudden, the absent years when you hadn't seen one another, seem to disappear as you pick up right where you left off . . .

I remembered a Nurses Day Celebration that we had many years ago.  The nurses of the hospital where I worked were all encouraged to write about a special experience they had had with a patient, and we ended up writing their stories and printing them for our special day of celebration.  Even back then, I recalled reading about the impact we have when we are allowed to enter the lives of those in our care and walk along side of them.  One of the greatest gifts we have to offer one another is caring, especially when given with compassion, kindness, and gentleness . . .

Sometimes too, that caring has had to be strong and tough, especially when the one before us is in a threatening happen stance.  Nurses have the ability to be that advocate, that voice when one has no voice to speak or cannot speak on their behalf.  Perhaps that was why I was so encouraged as I sat at my tea and listened to my fellow comrades.  I realized again the wealth that lies within our lives, and the impact that we have not only with patients, but with our loved ones.  I received such encouragement from their selfless vulnerability. . .

So I'm back to business, not only being intentional in my blogging, but doing what is important to me.   Patients, neighbors, friends, and family matter to me.  Taking time out for one another is what will make a difference.  I found a new energetic joy as I returned to work, mentoring my NP student.  It also wasn't inconvenient to be available for my neighbors facing hospice, nor to be open to former relationships and new relationships within our own family.

Yes, I'm getting back to business . . . loving God with all my heart and soul, and loving my neighbor as myself . . .       


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