Resistance is Futile

Well, I graduated. I'm all done now. I'm a nurse, (still sounds foreign coming out of my mouth.) No more attending class, no more driving to school, no more reading textbooks, no more late-night studying... I know what you're thinking: That's wonderful, I bet you're so glad. Funny thing; I'm not. I mean, I am for now; for today. I know, however, that within a very short period of time I will be just itching to get back to all of the aforementioned tasks. I suppose I am happy but never satisfied when it comes to these things. Perhaps I have a problem. I am addicted to learning. I refuse to let myself go through withdrawals. I refuse to sit idle and marinate in front of a television when I could be reading. I cannot accept that I have reached some sort of plateau in my education. I'm afraid that if I go too long without challenging my mind I will lose the ability to do so. So, yes, yay, hooray, congratulations and such. However, all of this is tempered with the reality that I will never be finished with my academic pursuits. (Perhaps academia is pursuing me; I shall not resist.)

Naomi, Again

So I learned a few things last night in an interesting way. I went to a prayer meeting with members of my church. So, we had to stand in a circle and hold hands, which is not my thing. Anyways, I was able to push through my discomfort and pay attention. Everyone is praying one by one in the circle and my pastor, who is standing one person away from me is praying out loud the whole time. So, I start listening to this man. (If you're asking, 'why weren't you praying'; good question. I was but it was mostly, 'God, please let this hurry up because my hand is feeling sweaty already.') My pastor is praying for people, and not just any people; he is praying for the very people that talk ugly about him and slander him behind his back. I started feeling pretty petty pretty quickly. I'm over here mad about old news that I just can't seem to let go, while this man is praying genuinely for people who will always attack him. My bitterness seemed to float away. Mara I am no longer. It's amazing what I learned at a prayer meeting by not praying.

Diversion

Ah, I should be studying. Pharmacology is very exciting but I think I've reached my current capacity. I will learn more; it's an ever changing world, but not tonight. I thought, "I think I'll post to my blog." Only problem is, I have nothing in particular to talk about. I mean, sure, I could talk about Phenytoin, which is metabolized hepatically or Bactrim, which causes photosensitivity. But who cares? (Well, I can think of about seventy people who might.)
I could talk about the fact that I am sooo ready to graduate. It's been really hard. Honestly, I went to nursing school on a whim. I thought, well, my prerequisites are about to expire soooo...it's now or never. Funny thing now; I'm about to be responsible for peoples' lives...
A family member of mine had surgery today and I am truly grateful that he is doing well now.
My daughter needs prayers. Her headaches are still a mystery. Someone told her today that if she believed in Jesus he would heal her. I'm not sure what I think of that. So, next time she has a headache does it mean she doesn't believe in Jesus?
I should be studying right now.

Happy Mother's Day

It's Mother's Day. Everyone is going around hugging women and saying happy mother's day. Nothing wrong with that. We do want mothers to be happy on this day. We celebrate everything mothers have done for us; giving us life, caring for us; loving us. If we are mothers ourselves we think about when we were pregnant, how the baby grew and we felt him move. We think about labor and the pain we went through; the delivery and that indescribable feeling of holding the child for the first time. We think about watching the baby grow and the first smile, the first words, first steps. I'll never forget the first time I heard 'mommy' and 'I love you.' It melts my heart. I thank God everyday for giving me the precious children that I have.
Here's the thing. There are plenty of women out there who will never have the chance to be a mother. They will never hear the words 'happy mothers day' directed towards them. They will never be pregnant, never feel the baby move, never revel at the sight of the little heart on the ultrasound screen. They will never have a battle tale to tell about labor and delivery; never know the feeling of holding the baby for the first time. They will not have the first smile, steps, words. The little 'mommy, I love you' will never grace their ears. I want to remember these women on this Mothers Day. I pray God brings you comfort as you endure all the well-wishing this holiday.

The City on a Hill

Sooo, I'm sure everyone in the world has an opinion about this Bin Laden killing. Well, maybe not everyone in the world. There are the sick, the impoverished and the dying who probably don't have time to be concerned about it. But who cares about them right? They're not important. (Hold that thought.) So, here is my thing about this. I'm an American, in that I am a citizen of this country. (I have a birth certificate and everything. Did not know there were long forms until recently.) Anyways, I think the word is being abused. American...what kind of images come to mind when you think of the word? The flag, the military, apple pie, egocentrism, consumerism... I digress. So we killed Osama Bin Laden. See how when I use the word 'we' there everyone assumes Americans? (It's what I meant, after all.) In reality, though, I had nothing to do with the killing of Bin Laden. Unless by paying taxes I fund the government that allowed for the CIA to hunt him down and provided the resources for the military to kill him. Well then, perhaps I am an accomplice. Ooooh, I used the word accomplice like killing Bin Laden was a murder. Fair warning: Here is the part of this post where I lose readers and anger people. You may want to navigate away from this page now! So, yes I think that to take the life of another human is murder; regardless of what that person has done. I think justice is to take care of the poor and widowed, the sick and dying. I think my loyalty should lie within another kingdom and if that makes me a bad American I don't care. (There are more of us out there than you think.) And no, I cannot in good conscience celebrate the murder of another human being. I refuse to place myself on the judgement seat and proclaim that justice has been done. I feel that is to blaspheme. Yes, I'm serious right now. If you want to call me unpatriotic or a bad American that is fine. Before you go judging me though, please stick with me for a few more lines:
You shall not murder, Exodus 20.13
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged, Matthew 7.1