At my job, as I'm sure many will understand, it is very difficult for me to talk about my faith and beliefs in God at work. I knew this upon taking this job, but that doesn't mean that these sorts of conversations have never happened. A few days ago, one of these conversations took place. I had a patient approach me and asked if we could speak; for confidentiality reasons I cannot and will not disclose any information. For reasons that I can only chalk up to God, this patient chose me to speak to. Perhaps it's because they knew I was a Christian, I don't know. But anyway, they looked at me and was concerned about going back to school and about the direction God was taking them. This person then told me they felt abandoned by God and a little bit angry about feeling that way. It had been years since I had had this type of conversation with anyone, and it had been with my best friend at the time. Unfortunately the three of us have since parted ways, but that's a whole other story and God moment. Anyway, but I didn't know what to say; my mind processes were racing. I'm a nurse, I'm supposed to know what to say at the right time. But I was honest. My response was simply...wow. I'm not really sure how I can help but I will do my best. I shared that God has a plan for everyone, and drawing from my own experiences, but sometimes it's ok to feel in the dark about what that plan is. But it's there, and the fact that they were there getting help spoke volume about the fact that they were trying to regain control of their situation. I suggested they ask God for direction and not necessarily the answers right away, but the courage to persevere. We then talked about school for a bit and that was it. I was thanked at the end of the conversation. That was it.
Words are simple, in my opinion. I was never taught in nursing school how to have conversations with people; you can't get a degree for that. You put yourself out there with your words; you may say the "wrong" thing. Or what you say may exactly what someone might need to hear.
Holly: A Brief (hopefully!) Reflection on England
It all started in March of 2011. Kelly, myself and a good friend of mine were browsing a study abroad catalog before convo one afternoon. Brandi passed that catalog to me....and the rest, as they say, is history. Found a program at Kingston University, a "suburb" 20 miles outside of London. And then, 6 grand in debt, a blog, 6 flights, four weeks, many friends and memories (and pubs), and almost three years later, and I have a plethora of lessons, stories, experiences that will last for years to come.
When I first got to Berea I had no intention of studying abroad. It didn't dawn on me until later that Berea is a blessing because they make it so affordable and so easy. And God knew what He was doing that afternoon in March- setting in motion this experience that literally changed my life. He kept me safe while I was there; I never once felt I was in danger. He kept me safe on the way back home, when one of my flights got cancelled and I ended up having to spend the night in the airport. He put roommates and friends in my path, and the relationships we built made me feel as if I had known these complete strangers my whole life. He showed me just how beautiful and big the world is. Seriously, for one of the largest cities in the world, London is stunningly beautiful, with old and new architecture and sites alike. I think I left a piece of my soul there. While I was there I was able to talk to my family, thanks to the uni and a cell phone program the summer school had set up. What a blessing! I watch my British telly shows and I see places I visited or saw, I hear words and phrases I heard, and it automatically takes me back to those days: getting lost in the streets with my friends, soaking up EVERYTHING in my classes, riding the double-decker buses and tube, freezing my butt off in the middle of July, the rain, Big Ben, the Eye, Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford, Westminster Abbey, museums, coffee shops, pigeons, doing British accents on the public transport so we'd try to blend in, thanking God every day and sometimes asking myself "Am I really here? Am I really in England?"...
I will go back someday.
No comments:
Post a Comment