Nurse life truly is such a sweet life.
For the past year and a half, I have worked as a registered nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit at a hospital in my hometown. After four difficult years of nursing school I finally did it, I finally accomplished one of my biggest life goals. To be completely transparent, being a nurse was not always what I thought it would be but, even when it fell short of certain expectations, it blew me away in ways I never imagined. Being a nurse is difficult. There are days when I felt completely inadequate or when it completely broke my heart. For every sad or hard day, there were five other amazing days. Truly it must be rare for there to be a profession when you get to see people on both the best and worst days of their lives. When you get to deliver both heartbreaking and life-giving news. Throughout nursing school and as a nurse I have gotten to be there to hold the hand of someone as they passed, to perform lifesaving chest compressions, to watch a doctor confirm their diagnosis of cancer, to see someone who everyone thought would not survive their admission walk out of the hospital with almost no deficits. I have had these privileges and many more. It has been such an honor to care for countless people. While I am ecstatic for the next chapter of my life, I am saddened to close, even if only temporarily, this chapter.
I would like to share with you some of the greatest life lessons that I have gained from my time as a nurse. Lessons that I will always carry with me. Lessons that will without a doubt greatly aid me in my next journey.
- A simple smile goes a long way.
It is incredible what a small simple act of kindness, like a smile, can do for someone. Smiling at someone is a small way of saying, “I see you and I care about your happiness.” Smiling not only brings joy to others, it brings joy to me. Choosing joy can be hard. Somedays, it feels nearly impossible. However, when I am struggling to choose joy, I have found that forcing myself to smile helps. It is nearly impossible for me to smile and not begin to feel joy. I firmly believe that a simple smile is a way to open the door and show someone the love and joy of Jesus. I pray that I may never, ever allow myself to miss out on a chance to bring this joy to someone.
- Empathy will always be greater than sympathy.
While there is a time and a place for sympathy, and while it is not a bad thing, to me empathy is greater. Sympathy says, “I am so sorry that happened to you.” Sympathy allows me to feel bad for someone or for their circumstances. Sympathy often comes with a call to action. If I feel badly that someone’s house burnt down, I may offer to help them rebuild their home. Sympathy is a good thing. However, sympathy can come with a sense of pity, which is why, in my opinion, empathy is just often greater. Empathy says, “I understand how you are feeling and I am here.” Empathy allows me to sit with someone who just lost their loved one and let my heart truly break with theirs. Empathy allows me to meet someone at their lowest and FEEL their pain. Empathy enables me to go and care for the hurting, without the same sense of pity that tends to accompany sympathy. To love someone for who they are and not look down on them. Allowing myself to be empathetic is scary. It is raw, painful and comes with a sense of vulnerability. Empathy is always authentic.
- Teamwork makes the dream work.
Knowing when to ask for help is crucial to success. There is a certain level of self awareness that is needed in order to know our own limitations. Pride says, I can handle this. Pride wants to stop me from asking for help because admitting I cannot do something is a sign of weakness. However, my absolute favorite days of work were when everyone banned together and helped each other. Being able to ask for help is a beautiful thing. It is a reminder that I am not perfect by any means. After all, if I never needed to ask for help than the cross would serve no purpose. If I were capable of doing everything on my own than I would be able to save myself and would not need Jesus. This beauty that comes when I am reminded of just how weak I am, gives way to remind me to be grateful for my Savior. To be reminded of the magnitude of the cross.
- Everyone has a story.
That “drug seeker” or “frequent flyer” that is, unfortunately, so easily written off by the medical community. That people look down upon and call “scum,” “dirty” or even “a waste of resources.” Those people are still children of God. Those people have a purpose, they have a story. God did not create anyone on accident. Every single human life has meaning. When Jesus came from Heaven He did not hang out with the rich or the popular. He spent His time with the notorious sinners. If Jesus, the son of God, did not consider Himself to be above the people who society says are they lowest of lows, how dare I? How dare I not love the dirty orphan? How dare I not extend grace to the man suffering from addiction? How dare I turn an eye to the woman working as a prostitute? Rather I want to be a person who will go to them and sit with them. I want to be someone who values their words. Someone who is willing to hear their story and serve as the reminder they may need that their story matters.
- Everyone deserves love.
Jesus came for EVERYONE. Jesus did not come for the righteous, He came for the broken. He did not come for the rich, He came to help the impoverished. Jesus did not come for the healthy, He came to heal the lame. Much as Jesus extended His love to everyone He encountered, so must I. This extends into every area of my life. Those who are hard to love often need love the most. While it can be quite challenging, I have learned the importance of humbling myself and forcing myself to see everyone I meet as someone who is fiercely loved by the Lord. Seeing someone in this light makes loving even the hardest person easier. Jesus says our greatest commandment is to love God and to love our neighbors. Loving each other is so important to the Lord that in the new international version of the bible, the word love appears 551 times. As I said before, God did not create anyone on accident. Every person I encounter is important to our Father. Just as everyone deserves to be heard, everyone deserves to be loved.
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All my love,
Bekah
