Nurse.

simple solutions.

Her band-aids have fallen off again.

And the world is not okay.

She's desperate for anything to cover her wounds.

Her feet are covered in dirt. I take some soapy gauze to the caked on layers of the day. One half of the foot is miraculously clean, and the other half quite dirty and smelly. She knows they are awfully dirty - "dirtier than boy's feet!" But all she cares about are the blisters.

I clean, apply ointment, and place bigger and better band-aids (I hope) on her aching ten-year-old feet.

Fixed right up,
she walks out,
still wearing the shoes that have rubbed her dirty little feet raw.

clean hands & pure hearts

 

Who may ascend the hill of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to an idol

or swear by what is false.

Psalm 24:3-4

                                                                             K.Brewer

This week's goal:

clean hands

& a pure heart

  

Already, this week looks like a doozy. 2x the campers means 2x the injuries and needs. But it also means 2x the opportunity to serve and offer what I have to give.

Allergy shots. Broken families. Boo-boos. Caring. Building patience. Extending grace. Being an example.

The love thing.

1 Corinthians 13 speaks about love, and for some reason, I feel it fits my experience this week's clinical experience in the hospital well...

Love is patient. 

Love is patient with clients who demand three biscuits for breakfast against medical advice. 

Love is kind . 

Love is kind to patients in physical and spiritual distress. 

It does not envy; it does not boast. 

Love does not boast about superior situation, status, or health. 

It is not proud. 

Love leans in to wipe up bottoms and messes. 

It is not rude. 

It is not rude when others are rude to you. 

It is not self-seeking. 

Love recognizes that no task and no one is “below” you. 

It is not easily angered. 

Love is not easily angered by the demands or statements of coworkers or families.  

It keeps no records of wrongs. 

Love does not keep a record of how many years a patient has smoked or drank to the detriment of health. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 

Love rejoices when patients are presented with the truth, with answers, and with value. 

It always protects. 

Love always protects the patient with little mobility and a habit of crawling out of bed. 

It always trusts. 

Love trusts that at the end of the day, you have done your best. 

It always hopes, 

even when others have no hope. 

It always perseveres, 

even without all the answers. 

Love never fails…

Bitter Pills

As I pass her room, her head is down on the table. I ask her if she is feeling alright. She shrugs her shoulders and says, "I just feel down."

This lady has been admitted for fractures after taking a tumble in her yard. Last evening, she apparently experienced a great deal of pain - "enough where I could just scream." She feels powerless and frustrated at her abrupt loss of mobility and independence.

"I suppose I just need to swallow my pride, like they told me," she says, still shaking her head in disbelief. It is a bitter pill to swallow, harder than any of the real pills I have given her to swallow.

There is no quick fix for pride. Nothing will magically catapult us over hard work, over the realities of shortcomings. There is no pill that magically restructures our motivations, thoughts, routines, and relationships.

I kneel to her level and encourage her as best as I know how, knowing all along that I could just as easily be taking my own advice.

Give yourself grace. Yes, it is difficult to acknowledge your weakness, brokenness, and inability to care for yourself. But, accepting help does not rob you of freedom or value. Take it slow; give yourself time. You are healing. Give yourself grace.

---

"When you hold lightly these dreams and fears, you can be open to recieve every day as a new fay and to live your life as a unique expression of God's love for humankind." -Henri Nouwen