I have been putting off writing a blog for as long as possible because writing means vulnerability. Even if no one reads my blog ever, it is still an act of surrendering my thoughts, my admissions, my experiences, and my heart to subjection. And opening my self to subjection means volunteering for possible rejection or criticism. But that is the insecure, self-focused Alisha that worries about everything and everyone’s opinion. I am growing and learning through many difficult life experiences that God never created life to be ‘us’ focused (I know.. I’m a genius for figuring this one out at age 22). God has been teaching me that this short life is about giving Him the glory simply because he completely deserves all the praise and honor that we could ever offer. This glory manifests itself in innumerable ways and it is such a joy to be able to spend my entire life exploring new ways of giving God glory and pointing others around me to His majesty.
With that said, I have decided to begin a blog about my experiences as a nurse. Everything that I write will be in compliance with the privacy laws of my patients and names and dates and even genders may be changed in my writing to protect the identity of any of the people in my stories. The point is that I am not writing to tell you about my patient’s lives just to give you gritty information about people, but I am writing to hopefully share the countless opportunities I get every day at work to point people back to the glory of their Creator. It is an honor. It is a privilege. It is a huge responsibility. And I am terrified and overjoyed all at the same time.
I have also been talking with a lot of other newer nurses lately and been realizing that we all, in some way, find ourselves in similar situations, ethical decisions, theological challenges and “What!?” moments. My hope is that this also becomes a place where other people can share their stories, their questions, thoughts, and insights so that perhaps we can find a community and realize we are not alone in our struggles as Christian nurses. I am going to try to update my blog at least once a week to keep my reflections current and real. I am excited about this journey. It serves as an Ebenezer for my walk as a nurse and it will be very important on difficult days to look back and remember God’s faithfulness to me not just in my life but specifically to me as a nurse.
So here I am, vulnerable; vulnerably but faithfully attempting to point others toward Christ through my stories as a nurse.
