Saturday Ramblins, Vol. 1, No. 26 (December 12, 1998)

I made the decision so early in my life to be a nurse that I don't remember consciously making the decision. I just always knew I was going to be a nurse when I grew up.

After I graduated from Nursing School and started working with people who had open-heart surgery, I loved it! I really felt I was making a difference andwhat I was doing was what I was born to do. I started my nursing career justwhen huge advances were happening in cardio-vascular medicine and I absorbed it all like an unquenchable thirst. I not only was a nurse, but a cardio-vascular nurse and I started to define myself in those terms. So when I hit "burn-out" and began to hate nursing, that meant I hated myself as well!

It was at this time that I found myself sitting in my good friend's church not really knowing why I had said "yes" when they invited me to Community Church of Joy. I always considered myself a Christian but had never attended church regularly since I was about 12 years old. In fact, I felt very uncomfortable because I just wanted to be a fly on the wall and not be noticed. You can imagine the panic I felt when the pastor of the church was coming around shaking hands and he approached me. As he grasped my hand, I clearly heard "trust him!" So that afternoon I immediately called and left a message for him to call me back before I could change my mind.

The pastors and people of Joy helped me to develop a personal relationship with Christ and with Him, I grew to know myself the way God knows me. Nursing is my spiritual gift from God, but it does not define who I am. I began to love nursing again and find great satisfaction in what I was doing. And God showed me a new way to use that gift. While at Joy, I ran into another nurse I had worked with over 10 years before and we both saw a new way to use our education to serve God and the people of Joy. We founded a Parish Nurse Ministry to teach wellness and help the congregation become active in their own healthcare.

I am so glad that I heard that first "trust him!" and listened to the Voice of God! On that day, God spoke directly to me but I've also learned that He speaks to me everyday through others, for we are the Body of Christ. You just have to be open to listen!

Ed. note: To learn more about Jane's Parish Nurse Ministry, visit her web page at: http://members.aol.com/ccojrn/

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