How is it that in 5 months, I will step out my front door and not walk back through for 11 months? That’s crazy, is that even possible? Yes, it is! Anything is! 5 months ago, I would have never thought this was a possibility and yet with God, anything is. 5 months out: Passport is hand, tickets have been bought for training camp, shots are being obtained, insurance is being researched, and a letter is in the works to tell others, what’s up.
Next on the list: I have been asked to write about how I was called to the mission field. How was I called? Intimidating question. Where to even begin? Ephesians 4:11-13, "And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness". I am called to the mission field, you are called to the mission field, everyone has been called, whether it be a mother in her home, a teacher in a classroom, a construction worker on site. The mission field looks different for everyone.
Well, here goes…I was called from the beginning, Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you, I have appointed you.” What a God we serve! He knows us and not just knows us, but knows everything about us. He knows my heart, my love for nursing, my love for ‘lil ones, my heart cry for the nations, my hurts, my desires, my struggles, my sin. He loves me and desires so very much for me, He does the same for you.
Psalm 139:13,16 states, “For it was You who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb…Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” That’s where it began, before I was spoken into existence, I was called.
There was a girl born in Mission Viejo, CA 27 years ago, who was designed specifically as a “sick baby nurse”. Who would have known that yarn and a lamp could create the perfect IV? Who would have known an upside down laundry basket would serve as the ideal incubator? It began with a love for infants, all of them. A true phrase, if I ever heard one is: “Where you find babies, you will find Laura”, true from the beginning. God clearly directed my paths from the beginning and He continued to walk with me through 16 years of education. I promise, that there were times where it didn’t look like it would happen, but it did, and it’s because God called me.
I am a neonatal nurse, a childhood dream, has become my reality. Every day that I walk out my front door and through the doors of CHOC Children’s I walk onto the mission field God laid before me. I walk into the field that God has called me to. He has called me to sow, to love, to reap, to delve deep. He has called me to do this, and do this for His glory. This is where He called me from the beginning, and yet that is not the end…
I’m so blessed by God given me the desire of my heart and yet God has given me so much more. I am a neonatal nurse, I was created specifically to be a neonatal nurse. However, I am more than just a nurse. Being a nurse does not define me. I am a child of God, a handmaiden in His Kingdom, seeking and desiring to be a part of His Story, His Kingdom.
Just as I have always known I was called as a “sick baby nurse”, I have always had a love for the nations. It became evident with my “adoption” of Cassandra, my baby doll, I “went” to Africa for and from there it was only grew. I traveled to Mexico with my church, Saddleback Covenant, the first chance I got. I was 14. I fell in love. I found myself, after spending the day in the dirt, painting tires or playground equipment, collecting rocks in a field, spending time with the kids. I love serving God through loving and caring for others, whether it was through hard labor or simply pushing a child on the swing. This love has only deepened with additional trips to Mexico and a summer in the Philippines. My love extends beyond, praying for the nations and visiting them, I have been given a desire to share life with them, to be apart of them, to love them, to serve them, to be vulnerable with them, and grow.
This December, God opened a door, and asked me if I’d be willing to abandon all for Him and walk through, guess what, I walked through…I am willing, Lord, use me…the story is not over…
