Selfless Serving

Well. I have survived the first week of the semester. It was crazy. So much nursing stuff. And I can honestly say that I have rarely been more anxious for something than I am for this upcoming semester. Some of that is nerves, some of that is excitement, and some of that is just pure uncertainty. My clinicals are going to be awesome, I can't wait to start putting some knowledge into action. But, that's also the scary part...I am going to be dealing with actual patients. Their livelihood is in the nurses' hands! It's amazing, this feeling of knowing that I'm going to be trusted by patients to take care of them, I'm going to be the hope of healing for some of them. That's a scary thought, but a role I've wanted to play from a very young age. I believe in physical as well as mental healing, and supporting patients mentally is also what I want to do. Being an RN is only the beginning, and I have to learn my way around in the hospital first. I feel as though it's going to give me a sense of serving like I've never felt before. It's also a type of serving I've never been more excited to do.

I think serving is a huge part of being a Christian. I mean, that's not why I'm going into nursing, to fufill my Christian duties, but you can't be humble without first having the experience of serving somebody. Serving doesn't always mean doing things for the less fortunate although that's a great way to serve and keep the world in perspective. Serving can mean being there for your roommate. Serving can mean listening to a friend without constantly trying to give advice. Serving can mean doing something little for your friend without a word. Serving can mean just giving somebody a hug when you know they need it. Serving can be doing tasks in the hospital, no matter what that is, giving your all so your patients are more than comfortable. And these are the things that make the biggest differences in people's lives. The only thing is that the serving you do, no matter what form, must be selfless. If you're looking to gain something by serving, then it's not the right kind. If you're looking to win approval by serving, it's not right. If you're looking to improve your reputation by serving and letting everyone know just how much you have served, it's not right. I've always had sort of a quiet personality. It hasn't been in my nature to really speak up about things. But, I admit, I've been guilty of serving for different reasons before. We all have. Those days of service we all sign up for...why do you sign up? Did your friends sign up? Was everybody doing it? Or did you just genuinely want to serve and the opportunity presented itself? It could be any of those, I'm not trying to undermine the greatness of those service days. But, we all have personal motivations that we need to make ourselves aware of. This is an area I've grown in, and I have much more growing to do, but I must say, it's one of the things that makes me the happiest.

 

 

The thing I'm trying to get at is that I'm going to need to drop my defenses and pride to be able to take care of my patients the way they need me to. I'll be doing some of the dirty work, I'll be reluctant at some points to carry out a task. But I just need to keep in mind that the serving I do now will impact people for a long time. The serving you do on a daily basis gets noticed whether you say anything or not. Just food for thought.

"The greatest among you will be your servant."

-Matthew 23:11