Shades of Blue

I recall like yesterday going to our local Walmart, school supply list in hand. Backpack. Notes book. Crayons.

Those 95+Crayola boxes always caught my attention, but my mom always reassured me that the 8 pack would be sufficient.

I wanted ALL the colors though. The box with 8 had the essentials, but I wanted more than just plain old “blue”. I wanted turquoise for the ocean and navy for my denim jeans. Plain old blue just wouldn’t cut it.

Leaving discouraged after buying the simple box of crayons, I would pout on the ride home and then forget all about it while I excitedly filled my backpack with all my new supplies. Off I went to school Monday through Friday, August to May. I learned a lot about numbers and the building blocks of abcs and a little about real life.

It’s been 10 years since I graduated from public school. I can count on my two hands the number of times I’ve seen the people I grew up with 13+ years in those 20 x 20 brick rooms. Thanks to Facebook, we are however still able to keep tabs on each other.

Thankful is the word I would use for each teacher who invested their time in myself and my classmates over the years. With this being said though, I think most of my teacher friends would agree that there are more shades of blue than just one in a box of crayons. The same goes with children, seeing how there are multiple personality’s in which our children can possess when it comes to learning.

Each child uniquely made, not all gifted with the logic smarts that it takes to ace those standardized test the schools are mandated to issue each year by our government.

My experience with public school was fine. I managed to skim by with a few As, mostly Bs, and some Cs to keep my standing to participate in extracurricular activities. However, I wasn’t engaged. Living selfishly for myself I would make statements like, “When will we ever even use this?”

Usually our teachers agreeing, would respond with, “Yah, well I’m teaching it anyway.” It was during those difficult to relate to topics where I found myself daydreaming about riding a horse and whether we would drop the baton in our relay race in a few short hours, rather than the words that were in front of me in my book.

PS I was 23 years old in nursing school when I realized I learn best when reading out loud. By now my husband should know all about what’s required to be a nurse from my hundreds of hour of out loud story time.

What if we didn’t have to learn all that unneeded “stuff” while in school though? What if we weren’t under the authority of the government? Being told what should or shouldn’t be taught.

What if the Word of God was our user manual to raise up our Children. Their education coming directly from what’s written in Gods Holy Word. What better history is there than where it all first began?

Teaching them the fundamentals of how to grow a plant from seed, bake a cake, change their oil, and drive a nail.

Incorporating science in with the microorganisms found in the dirt and the mechanisms that go into making a motor run. Math is seen in full affect while mapping out dimensions for a house, hanging windows, and cutting tile for your bathroom floor.

How can we get back to the fundamentals of life?

I believe the only way this will be possible is by teaching our children ourselves. No longer putting this task on individuals who I’m sure with the right intentions are however not allowed to teach what they themselves believe is fundamental to harvest healthy and God honoring future adults.

When my eyes were opened to this reality, it was a sad day friends. My lifeboat was shaken. Thanks to our Lord Jesus I have a solid rock to still stand on. Doesn’t mean I don’t sometime need a life raft thrown out, but He will ALWAYS sustain me. He is ALWAYS faithful to provide.

So if you agree that there is more than one shade of blue, I’m sure you’ll agree that no child is created the same. Each fearfully and wonderfully made.

How can we prepare our children for their futures that lie ahead? More importantly, their eternities ahead.

It starts at home. Where love is planted and God harvests when He and He alone sees it fit.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Monday morning after working a 12 hour night shift two coworkers and myself took a 40 minute brisk walk around the beautiful downtown Effingham.

I must say, peer pressure is not always to be viewed as a bad thing, especially when it’s going to benefit you physically. So thank you Lara for the encouragement to tag along and thank you Ashley for setting the pace. (FYI My calves still hurt.)

We enjoyed ourselves and were able to do some catching up on our bible study we are doing together on Psalm 23 The Lord is My Shepherd.

Studying Gods Word together is wonderful. Each taking away something different. Each able to use ones strengths to help another woman who may be weak at the time in an area of their life.

All with ultimately the same common interest of wanting to get to know and become more dependent on Him, our Father, who created all that we know.

Life on our unit during the months of June and July is usually pretty steady. Taking the time to connect with coworkers outside of the chaos that lies behind the hospital walls is refreshing.

This time is a good reminder to me that each person has a life, interests, and hobbies for themselves aside from helping bring babies into the world along with all the blood, sweat, and tears that comes with this profession.

As a unit we are a whole. The unit however is composed of many unique individuals who all bring something different to the table. No one nurse identical to another. Once again relying on each other through our strengths and weaknesses to do the Lords work.

I told the girls that morning that soon enough we would see the unit be busier. If going off of numbers in past years, babies would soon be on their way!

One thing I’ve learned in my few short years in OB is the Lord never gives a nurse more than they can handle. At times, it may seem as if that statement isn’t true. Reflecting back though, it’s very clear He has a way of conditioning us. I give Him praise for that.

To keep your unit functioning as a whole, at times you have to be the nurse who lengthens her stride to keep up with the pace. Getting outside your comfort zone to do the work God calls us to do.

Sometimes though, you have to be that nurse who slows down so the others don’t get left behind. Offering words of encouragement and realizing that there is truly is no I in TEAM.

Yes it takes a village to do the Lords work.

One things for sure though, He doesn’t want us to go at it alone. When we look to Him, He will offer His tender guidance and as a reward, a life of Quiet Rest that no one or thing ever could.

It’s during those stressful nights that you see the importance of unity together as humans. Those nights when you exchange hugs of appreciation after saving a life. It’s these moments when I’m reminded how beautiful and precious each individual, each life truly is.

One nurses weakness just may be another’s strength. All coming together to do the Lords work in which He calls us to do.

Bees are always busy doing the Lords work of making precious sweet honey we enjoy, so let’s look to them as an example.

Each role is important. Each not functioning without the other. The queen is important, but the Creator is who truly deserves all the praise.

A Mothers Prayer

Hello my dear friends. Today I write to you all who have been blessed with children. Whether they are in the midst of their childhoods or are now grown and bearing children of their own, they are all truly blessings from the Lord.

It’s been an odd time in history with COVID closing businesses, schools, and places of public worship.

Now that we are working on two full months of quarantine, may I ask how you all are doing?

Are you in the category of those who are ready for this all to end so you can get back to your “normal” lives. Back to the business of packing school lunches, shuffling kids onto buses, and racking up the miles driving to all the weekly sporting and extracurricular activities.

Maybe you are still fearful for what this virus is capable of. Annoyed with the above category of people who aren’t taking this as serious as they should. The thought of sending your kids to school or church is frightening as you know this virus causes awful symptoms and could potentially even lead to hospitalization and worse case scenario, death.

Let’s remember that our children, deserve to be informed. But how are we to inform our children if we are not properly informed ourselves?

Whether you are in category A or B, let’s remember to be kind and loving, despite your indifferences on the matter.

If you rolled your eyes just now, then maybe you need to read the Gospel of John. Jesus teaches us how our speech and conduct are examples of true saving faith. Are we conducting ourselves in that manor? If not, are we repenting to our Lord in a way that He hears us and knows our faith is truly genuine?

So is COVID a conspiracy? Mask or no mask? Continue social distance or reopen?

“Sorry kids you can’t go into the store because of the virus.” This was a line my husband and I used a lot the first several weeks of this all.

Now there are so many theories on these matters and you could spend day and night trying to decide for your family what theory to believe.

Rather than spend our precious minutes each day stressing over the matter, let us rather turn to Gods word for instruction and teaching when providing our children with insight as to what’s happening in the world.

For those of you who are ready for this all to end, that would be the happy ending of this really bad story, but personally I don’t believe that will be the case, and nor should we want it to be.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭22:6‬

This quarantine, has me meditating on this scripture. We as parents have a role to fill. I believe now more than ever we need to truly ask ourselves, are we doing our part?

Train them up. We as parents, should be teaching them what is happening around us today. With this virus, we can’t for certain tell them who caused this or how it came about, but we can start with the basics.

We live in a fallen world full of broken sinful people. No one is really good.

“There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:10-11‬

Let’s teach our children that we are broken apart from God. No one by themselves will seek God. By worldly standards, we however will seek attention, recognition, and praise.

We boast about tomorrow, we live for our money that we righteously feel that we alone earned, and we are selfish people who although we don’t want to admit it, are definitely not by definition, good.

That’s where Jesus comes in. God, it being His will for all to be saved, came into the world. Taking on the form man, yet still very much God, lived among sinful people like you and I. Despite being in the fallen world, he resisted temptation and never sinned.

His teachings are found in His Holy Word. Our Bibles are to be used as our weapon in this world today. Especially during a time in History like now.

Getting to know Jesus for ourselves is one of the best things we can and will ever do for our children.

When we see the life Jesus lived and when we let it transform our own lives, it will be reflected in our speech and the way we view the ways of the world.

God send His Son Jesus as payment for the sins we would never be able to work hard enough to undo.

Once a child myself, I didn’t spend a lot of time meditating on these words. I remember spending countless hours on the bus growing up, and learning about “Bloody Mary” and “Ghost Hauntings”, but unfortunately not a lot about Jesus was learned during those long country bus rides home.

I laugh now remembering these stories being told, but they did in some ways, play some importance for my journey today.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6:12‬ ‭

If we believe in God and His Son Jesus, then we can’t forget the third equally important member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. If you feed your physical body with water, food, and rest, well done. You should not neglect to also feed your soul the food it needs as well, which is found through reading His Word.

We are wrestling with powers and rulers of the unseen world. Let’s teach our kids the truth. Let’s open His word and make them aware of why this is all going on around us.

It will be the best thing, no money can buy. As a Mother, may you pray for Gods wisdom for not only your children, but more importantly yourself.

It is the one time in your life where selfishness on this matter will truly not only benefit yourself but your precious children God blesses you with.

All so that you can raise them up in the way that they should go.

Walking in the truth.

Have a Humble Mothers Day

Today I woke early. The birds were awake and busy outside my bedroom window and God was telling me, it was time to start my day too.

The sun was just coming up over the houses in the distance. Depending on our Lord each day has brought me to be more aware of the rotation of the earth and the position our planet is currently in. Despite feeling as if we have been stationary, the universe is at work as God has instructed it.

I placed a coffee pod into the Keurig machine and began to let it brew. Then grabbing my hot cup, a notebook, and bible, I headed out to our sunroom to begin my study on the Book of James.

One verse that I’ve really been reflecting on from our study is James 4:10.

Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

First off, what does humble mean?

I typed in the definition of humble into my trusty google search bar and this is what I found.

hum·ble/ˈhəmbəl/adjective

1. 1. having or showing a modest or low estimate of one’s own importance.

I found it interesting that a similar word listed right below was submissive. A word that has been so greatly misinterpreted especially in regards to women’s roles as wives and mothers.

So James is telling us through Gods instruction to humble ourselves and God Himself will exalt us.

What does exalt mean?

I will be honest and tell you my vocabulary and reading comprehension skills are nothing to boast about, yet our Lord is using His word to grow my knowledge each and every day in this subject. No need to dish out money on a college course here friends!

So James says, humble yourselves and God Himself will exalt you.

ex·alt

1. hold (someone or something) in very high regard; think or speak very highly of.

This physical world we live in is busy. For women, our roles God intended for us to possess have been distorted by this dog eat dog world.

I do believe that women can and should work. God doesn’t want to see idleness. But as women, we should see how we can bring glory to God in the work we are capable of doing that isn’t of the public eye.

Guidance on this matter is found in His word, which is able to be consumed as our daily food and then dished to our children. But if we ourselves as mothers are not feasting on the bread that God graciously gave to us, then how must be propose that our children will have anything to consume themselves?

Women we are under the authority of our husbands, but let’s not forget, our husbands are under the authority of Christ.

God formed the first woman out of man, yet, he chose man to be born of woman. Each as equally important. Both dependent on each other. Submissive at the highest role to God, because you can’t have one without the other.

So there is no better time than now in human history for us women to dive into our bibles and see for ourselves how to live humbly. How we can truly submit to our husbands and raise our children under Gods instructions.

Rather than depending on society and social networking to tell us how we should be mothering, let us turn to God Himself. His instructions are clear and never changing.

As you begin to Humble yourselves, may God begin to let you know how much He truly loves you.

Greetings Friends

Despite the current circumstances our hospital is facing, I choose to remain joyful.

Joy to me is not found by watching CNN, but rather through Gods word. Remaining hopeful in His promises to His creation.

My role as an OB nurse has not changed in the last year aside from a few added “accessories”. To be honest, incorporating face masks, googles, and splash protectors to my work wardrobe has been a blessing itself in disguise.

It has never been more evident then now through our makeup smudged masks, that as women, we do not need a painted on face to possess the beauty that God has always intended for us to let shine. The beauty of our hearts is where our self worth is truly found. Which is then revealed through our hands, doing the work God calls us to do.

The stillness of our empty waiting room is prevalent on the entire maternity floor. It’s true, that despite the absence of extra family members, these new moms and dads are enjoying the unfortunate circumstances.

I see it in their faces when they soak up those precious first moments. Just the two of them with the new life they were blessed with.

I won’t say that extra sleep is an added bonus for all these new parents. Many of these sweet babies prefer to prepare them both for the sleepless nights that await them. However, watching them grow into their new role as parents is a glorious sight to see.

So yes, being hopeful is an essential accessory itself for us nurses to possess during these current times. Without hope, all else seems meaningless to us healthcare workers and the patients we have the pleasure of caring for.

So although our current circumstances haven’t changed, one thing is for sure, our perspectives can.