Weakness of Strength

As one of the last lines of Chapter 11, Bailey writes, "Peter realizes the inadequacy of his own values and priorities." And right after this, he chooses to follow Jesus.

Today was my first day back on an advanced Med Surg unit. Having not practiced hard nursing skills for a few months, I entered the day with so many insecurities of not knowing enough or forgetting the procedures I have already learned, and feeling unable to adequately care for someone.

My immediate, almost instinctive reaction, was to just go for it, taking full responsibility of my patient and her total care for the day. To my surprise, I was able to recognize the medications and their purposes and precautions, to assess her status and implement new interventions, and indicate risk factors for her. Also, to my surprise, as I felt more competent in my nursing skills, I noticed just what Peter did, that my value of knowledge and priority of knowing these skills felt inadequate and unsatisfying.

For the last two hours of my shift, I went into my patient's room just to be with her. At first, I started by just charting in the room and asking her questions. The more questions and interest I showed, the more she trusted me. She shared how significantly this illness has affected her life by being unable to care for her mother and husband, unable to work, unable to speak, unable to find a cure, and how tired she is, how the medications cause her to gain weight and she feels insecure. So, I pressed into these subjects and listened, I braided her hair for her, and asked about her faith. She shared about her faith in God and how he is her only hope. I asked if I could pray for her and we came before the throne together. I felt the weight of that moment. She called me an angel, but she didn't know that she was mine today too.

Thinking about Bailey's chapter, I am reminded of how kind Jesus is to meet us not only in our weakness, but also in our strengths in order to offer us something far better than we could ever hope for: to follow him and make good out of simple matter.

Paulina K.

Comments

  1. Steve MannOctober 27, 2017 at 8:56 AM

    Thanks for the inspiring account of compassion and empathy Paulina! Great to hear about God coming alive through you during your rotation!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lauren ErnstNovember 3, 2017 at 5:20 AM

    Awesome story from your shift, Paulina! It's encouraging that God blesses us with all these opportunities to reach out to people. Way to answer the call!

    ReplyDelete

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