So I got a joke for you: Why did the nursing student cross the road?
Well, she had check-offs.
Sweat dripped down my arm pits as I walked into the check-off room. I tried to act normal as I talked out my nervousness. Blood pressure was the skill I had been worrying the most about; trying to hear through a double-eared stethoscope is like putting in a hearing aid and not turning it on.
As I walked out of the lab, with my first set of check-offs under my sleeve, I met some nervous faces belonging to students who had yet to complete their check-offs. I smiled, trying to reassure them the best way I knew how, and said, "There is really nothing to be nervous about."
This week has went by rather slowly, however, I feel as if it has gone by so fast. Why am I contradicting myself you may ask? Well, after all, I am in the middle of Pembroke's Nursing Boot-Camp.
Two tests, two clinical journals, and thirty-two hours of school later, I am sitting on my bed thankful to catch my breath and relieved to say week two is complete!
Yeah, watches and wearing white really isn't my thing, but I am enjoying this new way of life; I have stepped into my profession, I am becoming my future.
This past Sunday when I went grocery shopping, Aldi's had green peppers on sale, so I snatched up a pack. Yes, they come in four, but it is just my luck that I grabbed a pack in which one had gone bad; oh well.
Elizabeth's Simple Stuffed Pepper Recipe
Ingredients 3 large peppers (whatever color you would like)\\ 2 lbs ground venison\\ pepper & salt\\ garlic powder\\ onion powder\\ other herbs and spices you may find in the pantry\\
Directions defrost ground venison\\ preheat oven to 350F\\ cut tops of peppers off and rinse their insides well\\ mix venison with spices and herbs of your choice to taste\\ stuff peppers with venison-spice mix\\ cook in oven for 30-45 minutes, or until meat is thoroughly cooked\\
Eat the tastiest one with some yellow mustard and some nursing homework and freeze the other two for another night.
Or you could go home and steal some of your family's leftovers from the week and eat that for dinner.
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Nursing school is already a challenge; I can only imagine what my next two years will hold.
I quit band in middle school, I quit piano in my first years of high school, and I quit volleyball my senior year to focus on academics. People quit on me and I began to quit on God.
But that is not the way to live.
I was getting exhausted living an easy life without God. For many months, I held on to my title as a Christian but refused to read my bible and invest in Elizabeth-God time. I was getting exhausted. Negativity surged through my veins and I had lost all joy, I had lost hope. Where was the passionate girl I once was? I wanted my joy and peace and hope back; "turn around, Elizabeth, God is waiting for you" is a lot easier said than done.
BAM! God blew down my doors.
God opened up my eyes to all the pain and troubles I would experience if I did not let Him in. If I get exhausted living without Him when my life is relatively easy, how destructive would it be to live without Him during the most challenging years of my academic career?
I can't do this without Him. And although I have a ways to go, He is aiding me in getting my mind back on track.
I remember why I want to be a Nurse.
I am beginning to establish a new desire for my future as a nurse.
I am adopting His characteristics to become the Elizabeth-the-nurse and the Elizabeth-the-person He would favor.
I want to be compassionate; take away my anger. I want to be reliable; take away my fickleness. I want to be sensitive; give me unconditional love. I want to be obedient; help me renew my mind and control my emotions through the constancy of Your word. I want to be wise; help my actions not be dictated by my 'feelings' and emotions. I want to be sincere; help me love with a pure heart. I want to be genuine; give me trials so that I may strengthen my faith and draw closer to You.
{James 1:2; James 4:7-8; 1 Peter 1; Ecclesiastes 1:2; Psalm 40:2; 2 Samuel 22:47; Psalm 16:8}
"I am the Foundation and focus of your life. I am a firm foundation: one that will not be shaken. Without me, everything is ultimately "Meaningless, Meaningless!" The key to steadiness in your life is to set me always before you."
~Jesus Today
Up next, a Nursing Philosophy Paper and some Mocha Hazelnut {Espresso} Granola!
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If you must give something up to love someone, you are not loving correctly, subsequently it should not be referred to as "loving them." First, love is an action, as Christians it is a verb God calls us to exercise {John 15:12}. In English the word 'love' is a 'one-size-fits-all;' however, the Greek language had several words to express the concept of love: Eros, Philia, Storge, Agape. Out of all of these, Agape is the most important - it is the type of love which directed Jesus to the cross {John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10; 1 Corinthians 13} and is the type of love described in John 15:12 {Love each other as I have loved you}. Agape is the love that drives God's character. God (love) endures all things {1 Corinthians 13}; God (love) is always faithful {He will keep his covenant Deuteronomy 7:9}. You see, by not loving, an individual gives much up; trust may be broken, hope diminished, joy stolen away. But when one loves as God commands, the church of God is strengthened; love creates loyalty, someone to depend on in stressful times; love enables people to see the unseen {1 John 4:12}, actions speak louder than words; love motivates, it motivated Jesus to the cross, it motivates my mom to work 12-hour weekend shifts, it motivates me to never give up. Much is lost when love is stripped away; but much is gained, restored, renewed when love is cultivated. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins {1 Peter 4:8}.
Love is empowering; love is not a luxury, love is a command.