God's Strength

I really didn’t expect time to go by so quickly here. This week was a little slower paced and we had more down time after work. Once again, I really enjoyed working at the hospital, and being here continues to confirm that nursing is where God wants me.

Monday was a little difficult for me. I’m not a real big fan of needles. Whenever I’ve needed a shot or blood drawn or anything, I’m fine as long as I don’t see the needle. On Monday, Blankita, the nurse I was with, took out two IVs of different patients. I wasn’t really prepared and got a little woozy after the first one. I took a break to get some water and then went with a different nurse when I couldn’t find Blankita. She took out another IV and once again, I was a little woozy. I went into our little office and sat down and told my boss that I wasn’t feeling too good. I wasn’t sure if it was the needles or the Yellow Fever shot I had received four days before. Jenny, my boss, was going to take me to Linda, the missionary in charge of the hospital students. I called Linda and told her and she told me to stay and take some advil and do what I could. I went back up and sat down for a while and ate some food. After that I was doing much better. Blankita kept asking me if I was doing okay and she felt bad about me not feeling well earlier because she didn’t know.

That night I realized that working in the hospital has helped to confirm where God wants me, but I won’t be able to get by on my own strength. On my own, I may always struggle with the sight of needles and poking and hurting people, but I can put it in God’s hands and trust that He will get me through it.

The next day, I followed a nurse around as she gave meds to the different patients. In the first three rooms we went to, she checked IVs. At the first room, she had to take out the IV and put it in somewhere else. As soon as I realized what she was doing, I started praying that God would give me strength and that I wouldn’t become light-headed. The nurse had to poke the poor lady two or three times, but I made it through (and so did the poor lady). Then we moved on to the next one and the next one, and with God, I made it through. I did stop and eat a few crackers quick, just in case. It’s definitely a lesson in trusting in God and knowing that even though I know what He wants me to do, He’s still telling me that I need to keep the focus on Him, and not what I can do on my own.