Thank you
Thank you for all your commitment and hard work in nursing. For I know this is more than just a job, this is who we are. It is our passion and desire to love, care, and serve.
Although the difficulties we face takes away from our possibility to do more, you are doing great. So please don’t beat yourself up over the ‘if only I’ and the ‘what ifs’ that are running through your mind.
Thank you for every single one of your smiles and tears.
I am beyond grateful for YOU.
Happy International Nurses Day!
You may be thinking, ‘What is there to celebrate? Who is there to celebrate with us?’
The situations we come to face are not always happy and this has become more apparent with the pandemic over the last year. Nurses all over the world, you are fighting in the trenches day in, day out. You come with the desire to save, but you are only met with deaths one after another. They keep coming.
Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?
Despite this grim reality, this day is a beautiful opportunity to reflect on all the happiness associated with nursing.
The encouragement you received as someone smiled at you or thanked you for your care. The inexpressible relief when you finish a tough shift together as a team. The happiness when you look back on how much you have grown in this career and as a person.
Yes, happiness is temporary, but these sparks of delight and laughter keep us going. Remember those 3 am chats when words no longer form coherently? Or when you walk down the hospital corridor smiling because you completed something new for the first time? And how about all those inside jokes?
You are seen
I see the tiredness in your eyes as you come back for another hectic shift.
I see the fear in you as a patient is rapidly deteriorating.
I see how hungry you are, yet another person wants to speak with you.
I see the tears you hold back as you grieve with the patient and family.
I see your invisible and endless to-do list as you spend extended precious moments with the patient.
I also see your calmness when you are trembling inside,
Your growing confidence in managing complex situations,
You pray and intercede on behalf of others,
The joy in your heart each time the patient progresses,
And above all, I see your love and sacrifice and time again.
God is working
I know it is hard sometimes to believe God is present in our workplace. It is easy to question how all these illnesses can occur. It is easy to doubt the healing hand of God when we see deterioration and acute complications of our patients, friends, and family.
We dwell in such a pessimistic environment that our perspective follows suit. We normalise these experiences and forget that miracles are possible.
Miracles, big or small, are happening every day. They are occurring more than we recognise. I believe as we increasingly commit our work and our people to God, the more miracles we will see.
For we are not entrusting all these to a God who does not care and cannot do miracles. Our God intimately loves each person and has the powers to do all things and to bring healing like never seen before.
I pray that as nurses, we would have the eyes to see God working, the ears to hear his voice, the mouths to speak his truth, and the hands to extend his love and grace.
Because as long as there is life, there is still a chance to hope, love, and journey to the light.
Thank you once again
Nurses, you are loved and valued. You deserve to celebrate every victory. We can commemorate this day and each other. Not because of what we are facing, but because of who we are and who God is.