Lessons Learned Through Nursing

I got the following email from a friend of mine who is nursing with the US Army Nurse Corp and is currently in Afghanistan. Such a good reminder as I occasionally have similar "demanding" patients can test one's patience immensely. Thanks Jill!

Hey everyone,

Just a few thoughts this Sunday. All week long I was taking care of a particularly difficult Afghani patient. This Patient was very demanding, every few minutes I would hear him call "nurse!" wanting something. Anything anyone in the room got, he wanted too. If we gave loli pops to the kids, he wanted one. If we had flavor packets for our water, he wanted one too, and not just any one, he was picky about flavors. Not only did he constantly ask for things, but he was very ungrateful, never saying thank you, or even smiling at us. When the kid next to him was sick, and I was running around trying to get him medication to make him feel better, there was my annoying patient interrupting me, asking me for trivial things like a cookie. The translators told us that he also said many disrespectful things about the nurses too, and that he was "a very bad guy." I finally got to fly this patient out to another hospital, and I was very happy to be getting rid of him. Even as we were bouncing along in the ambulance headed for the flight line, he was still asking for things, and my patience was worn thin. And suddenly a thought stopped me. This is exactly how I am to the Lord. How often am I asking for things, and then as soon as I receive what I ask for, I forget to be grateful. Like the patient, when I get what I ask for, I complain that it is the wrong flavor. When I see others around me who are blessed, I complain that I don't have what they have. Even when I see others around me who are much worse off than I am, I forget to be patient with my own small burdens. It was a very powerful realization for me. As sinners we are enemies of God, ungrateful, disrespectful, and greedy. It reminded me that Jesus came for sinners, to die for His enemies, and He came with Love. We take God' mercies for granted and think that we deserve more. It is a wonder of God's grace that He is so patient with us. He is compassionate and forgiving, even when I am so ungrateful. This story helped motivate me to continue to be compassionate, to remember to count my blessings and thank God for them.