Tag Archives: missionary nurse

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I have occasion to brag on God, and I cannot pass it up. I have a missionary friend who said to me once, “Shame on you for not sharing with me what God is doing in your life.” So here it is!

I was recently convicted about being too general in my missional living, perhaps being a light, but not naming the light “Jesus” in my day to day activities, not giving Him the glory He deserves. So I decided I would equip myself to share more of a Gospel message while I try to live as brightly as Christ allows. To that end, I purchased a bunch of very portable copies of the Gospel of John. I forfeited a small amount of my storage space in my scrubs pocket to carry a few of these around with me in the Emergency Department where I serve as a night shift nurse. Two nights ago, while I was diligently serving my patients in a manner I hope glorifies God, one of my patients said, “Something is different about you. Do you believe in the Bible?” When I affirmed that I did, she told me she had always been interested in the Bible, but was too overwhelmed by the size of it, and said she never knew where to start.” I quickly whipped out one of my Gospel of John booklets and presented it to her as a gift from me. She was ever so grateful and asked me to keep the light on in her room so she could begin reading it. Odd isn’t it, or is it God, that I should just happen to have an abridged version of the Gospel in a nutshell when a seeker was presented to me to whom the whole leather-bound Word would be overwhelming? That’s not odd, that’s God!

The night before that, I had occasion to pray with a patient who was dreadful at the prospect of surgery for her problem. Prior to surgery, a less invasive nursing intervention was prescribed, which I had the honor of administering. We prayed together that the nursing intervention would work out the problem and the need for surgery would be averted. Not ten minutes after the intervention, the problem was alleviated completely, and we shared a hallelujah rejoicing moment. Later, when it was time to confirm her progress with a scoping procedure, my patient became visibly anxious. Again, I was presented with an opportunity to stop and pray with her, thanking God for abundant life and positive outcomes. There was a countenance of peace that washed over this woman, and I believed in that moment I was where God had placed me, doing what He would have me do for His children. 

That same night, I had occasion to serve other children of God, one of whom needed more than just her feet washed, and repeatedly. Eleven times I changed her adult brief, and each time, I tried to picture Jesus with a towel around His waist. In another room, my patience was tested, when an unruly patient threatened me and the entire staff, disrupted the whole Emergency Department, and ultimately stormed out against medical advice. What amazed me was that, in the aftermath of his departure, I had gained credibility and respect among my coworkers and patients for the manner with which I dealt with this unhappy person. God used even this stormy interaction to enlarge my sphere of influence, and I pray He will continue to use me to glorify Himself. 

14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:14-15, NIV)

Today in Bible study, we came across Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount where He talked about being a light to the world and not hiding that light but putting it on a stand. I recognize that, for His glory, sometimes God shines a little brighter through us and sometimes He elevates the lamp stand by increasing our influence. May He continue to do both in you and me as we strive to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to Him and to those around us. May your sphere of influence be widened, and your light be ever brighter as we are gradually transformed into His glory, through Christ Jesus our Lord, amen!

10 Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! (1 Chronicles 4:10, NIV)

Every day I pray that God will make me an extension of His healing, encouraging grace, that those I touch and treat will be miraculously healed, those I speak with will be encouraged, and that my every thought, word, and action will glorify God. Often I see His hand at work, and sometimes I miss it in the hurry of things, but He's always moving in, around, and through me. I'm sorry I don't share it more often, but He does glorify Himself, and it is up to us, His servants, to magnify His glory by sharing it with one another. I hope you will be encouraged to lift your light, expand your territory, and tell of the wonderful goodness of our God, who saved us through Christ Jesus.

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Since I last wrote, I’ve been juggling work, school, family, and church. Working in the Emergency Department, a new and hectic environment with every encounter a potentially life-altering one, I am understandably stressed. Add to that a full-time online college career and every other facet of my life has had to make sacrifices. Just a couple weeks ago, I was feeling so overwhelmed I was sure something would have to give. Then just as I began to feel crushed under the burden, God began to lift much of the worry right off me. He showed me I was on secure footing at school, and repeatedly shows me how He is using me in people’s lives at work. I may not be the most confident Emergency Department Nurse yet, but I am useful, and most days that gets affirmed at just the right time. 

Cindy is between jobs at the moment. Resigning her former position may have relieved her of one of her major stressors but it added one for being unoccupied. You might well imagine that an out-of-work workaholic is an unhappy person. Please pray that God will open a door of opportunity for her to again find purposeful structure. It wouldn’t hurt if that opportunity came with a paycheck.

My parents have decided that, since Cindy and I are planning to leave the continent to serve long-term in Africa, they might as well leave town and seek residence near my sisters. So they are moving to Memphis next week. I have tried to pitch in and help in preparations for their move where I can, but the opportunities to help between night shift work and college deadlines have been scarce and brief. Cindy has made herself available like a champ, and my siblings have all responded like heroes. My emotions are mixed about this move, but mostly I feel like the cause of the problem rather than a source of help. Add guilt and loss onto the pile I was carrying. 

Our church family is preparing for a missions expo that will launch the week of my birthday, September 14th. We are looking forward to being a part of that, and will have an information table as part of this “Go Expo”. Thanks to our Missions Pastor Lance Sellon, CrossRoad Church, and the CRC missions team, for their willingness to allow us to participate. 

So, as you can see, prayers are needed and appreciated. We are not just sitting still waiting for Summer 2021 to arrive. It’s coming quickly, and we’re busy preparing. God is crafting me into a competent healing minister, and turning us both into what we will need to be for the tasks and times ahead. Please don’t forget to pray for us. We need you! We need God’s power and peace in our lives. I know Jesus said not to worry, and that each day has enough of its own worries (Matthew 6:34). He was right. And right now our days are filled with what feels like more than our share. 

Your fellow servant,

Todd 

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“If I’m not challenging myself to do something I’m terrified of I’m not really growing.” I heard myself say it, but it sounded alien coming from the mouth of a guy who has always resisted change and gets anxious around unknowns. Still, here I am on the brink of a new adventure because I believe it is where God is calling me next. The nurses who were asking about my upcoming assignment needed an explanation for my look of trepidation while I told them what should be good news: my application to the Emergency Department was accepted, and I start the end of February.

If I’m not challenging myself to do something I’m terrified of I’m not really growing.

Unfortunately, the voices near me at work seem to echo the doubts in my head: “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” “What makes you think you can handle the pace of the E.D?” and, “How will you manage school and a new endeavor like this?”

Jesus’ exclamation, “Get behind me, Satan,” (Matthew 16:23) has never made so much sense. It’s easy to be fearful given the lions’ den I’m preparing to enter. Still, I know that God has a way of making me ready just in the nick of time, and giving me only this day my daily bread.

I will tell you the behind the scenes story.

I was tired of my attempts to coordinate a shadow shift on the E.D. not working out, and I was getting advice from E.D. nurses not to wait until I thought I was ready because no one ever is. Furthermore, waiting until I was an experienced enough medical-surgical nurse was futile because nursing on a med-surg unit and in the E.D. are two vastly different things. I should just apply, I was told. I wasn’t convinced, so I put it to God.

I was praying that God would give me another clear sign, a Gideon’s fleece like He has so many times before. I prayed specifically about the decision of whether or not to apply for this terrifying position, even before I was technically eligible, having only worked in the med-surg unit for just under the required twelve months. There was no fatherly voice, speedy white car, or extra large bumper sticker this time, but there was a nagging echo in my ear like an annoying tune you can’t get rid of. At first it was like nonsense, but then I remembered what the syllables were and their significance: Urim and Thummim. It kept repeating in my head. Urim and Thummim. They were the sacred lots used by the ancient high priest to determine the will of God. Urim and Thummim. I didn’t have sacred lots, but I am a priest in the order of Melchizedek by the blood of Jesus Christ who loves me and gave His life for me. So I grabbed a coin, rebuked the mammon for which it was intended, blessed it, and called on the God of Heaven’s armies to be sovereign even over the laws of physics and the nature of chance to show me what to do. With prayer and a coin-toss, my Urim came up heads. An hour later, I pressed “submit” on my electronic application.

When we let Him, God will stretch us to our limits, then show us new limits and push us to those.

The interview several weeks later went… How shall I say? … medium to medium well. I did not sparkle, though I did smile with what, in retrospect, must have looked like a cocky grin. One of the team members in the two-nurse second interview even left in the process, saying I had asked the same question repeatedly and she had things to do. I was certainly not given a sense that I had the favor of man this day. After the interviews were over, I was left to wait in a small room that began to feel like a holding cell before I was retrieved for my tour of the E.D. and that’s when things got really terrifying. This place was crawling with people, all going different ways, all needing different things. I saw no organization to it, and am sure I was lost at several points in the tour. The manager was rattling off statistics about how this is the 13th busiest E.D. in the nation and how we boast some of the best response times for heart attack and stroke, and he made it clear I better never mess that up. When he finished the very brief tour, he said, “Well, what do you think?” I was dumbstruck. What I was really thinking was, “What have I got myself into?” and “Where’s the exit?” but what I said was, “It’s a lot!” He agreed and showed me out, saying something about there being other interviews and a recruiter would be in touch regarding their decision. On the way home, my prayers changed from, “Help this go well,” to, “Save me from this if I’m not supposed to be here!”

I didn’t mention the application to many people for obvious reasons. I didn’t want to get my hopes and fears up and didn’t want anyone else to either. I began rereading Rich Stearns’ books Unfinished and The Hole in Our Gospel, each of which had a significant role in spurring Cindy and me along in our decision to prepare for missions. I figure if I ever needed a booster shot of mission passion it was now. Sure enough, Rich laid out one scripture verse after another reminding me to “take up my cross and follow” Christ, and that we are promised many hardships along with our hundred-fold blessings when we give up our comforts. I was reminded that no one was promised an easy time. In fact quite the opposite. When we let Him, God will stretch us to our limits, then show us new limits and push us to those. We are constantly becoming new creatures, and metamorphosis hurts, but if we are to follow Christ’s example, we have to be willing to give up every comfort, every assurance, every known, and step onto the turbulent waters. Sink, swim, or tread upon the waves, God’s got each one of us by the hand.

Sink, swim, or tread upon the waves, God’s got each one of us by the hand.

That's what I had to remind myself on Monday, January 14th, when I dragged myself out of an all-day sleep to get ready for a night shift and found I had a message from the recruiter asking me to please call her at my earliest convenience. Note to self: next time you hear that, at least wake up fully first. I called her and listened to her offer me the job. She seemed excited to share such joyous news, but my heart was in my throat while I was still rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. When she asked whether I wanted to accept, I guess I didn’t answer with the ready eagerness she had anticipated, because her vocal countenance dropped like a brick. “Would you like time to think about it?” she prompted. “No, I’m committed to this. I’ll be honest, it’s terrifying, but I’m committed, so let’s do this.”

What adventure God has for me, let it begin as He determines.

Now you know the rest of the story, and you have peered into the mind of a scared but willing servant. What adventure God has for me, let it begin as He determines. Prayer warriors, please cover me. I'm going into hostile territory, and I'm doing so in between online classes for my baccalaureate degree.