Embracing the Process

“And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6

He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion AT THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST. Nursing school taught me a lot of awesome things, including how to better manage my time so I could complete all of my assignments, to make an educated decision and go with it, and to trust my gut. These are all great things, but I’m finding I’ve forgotten how to enjoy the process. Mom was reminding me, this morning, that I will never be complete until I get to heaven, and that’s really hard for me to comprehend! When I get to work, I may be given 7 patients and told I need to get vital signs at this time, have all of my baths done by the time I leave, get glucometer readings at a specific time, feed 2 patients who can’t feed themselves, and don’t forget to document, because what wasn’t documented, wasn’t done (sound familiar, nursing school friends??). I know I have until the time I get off of work to have these things completed, so I work really hard, often forgetting to embrace the PROCESS, to get it all done. I have a goal and I work to complete it. It’s my job. At home, I’m realizing I tend to do the same thing – when I feed one of the babies, I try to rush through it to get done. I forget it’s ok to cuddle the baby, smell him/her, and smile and talk to him/her. I have an end-goal, so I get there. I love to bake, but lately, it’s become less of a process to enjoy, but a means to an end. Even when I’m eating, I forget to enjoy it because I “need” to get done so I can move on to the next thing. But life is a process! Therefore, if I’ve forgotten to enjoy the process, I’ve forgotten to enjoy life! Like the Bible verse says, I will not be complete until I die, so why rush things? I’m essentially just rushing to the end of life. Wow. Thanks for opening my eyes, Mom!

Preparing for Haiti

Things are slowly moving forward for my trip to Haiti in August!  I applied to renew my passport a couple of weeks ago and the airline tickets were purchased.  There are 3 ways you can support me, if you feel God leading you in that way.

1. The most important way is prayer – It’s been 3 1/2 years since I’ve been and since I was last there, I developed some new health issues that were not present when I was 16.  They aren’t major, but it makes me a little nervous because Haiti is very hot and there is no air conditioning, so I have to work extra hard to take care of myself.  Also, as always, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual protection.  Haiti stretches you in every way imaginable…..most of the time it’s incredible, but anything pushed to an extreme, becomes a weakness, and Satan definitely tries his very hardest, on these trips, to tear you down and destroy you.

2. We’re collecting some things for the clinics we’ll hold.  Some of these are listed below, as well as the number of tablets/units we need to collect as a group.

• Acetaminophen for all ages (adult, children’s, and liquid infant) (25,000 adult, 1,000 infant)
• Vitamins for all ages (60,000 adult, 200 infant)
• Ibuprofen for all ages (20,000 adult, 1,000 infant)
• Chewable antacids (40,000)
• Zantac/Tagamet/Nexium (5,000)
• Saline or THZ eye drops (1,000)
• Antifungal cream (1,000)
• Antibiotic cream (1,000)
• Cortisone cream (400)
• Skin lotion (200)
• Bandages, gauze, tape, etc. (first aid supplies)
• If you have access to prescription medications, I have a list of those, as well.

3. This is really hard for me to ask, but if you feel like God is leading you to help financially, I would appreciate any donations.  Of course, if you aren’t in a position to help out financially, prayer is the biggest thing I need.

Monetary donations, whether to help cover expenses or to purchase supplies for the clinics (please specify), can be made by the link to paypal to the right, or checks can be made out to Emily Smith and mailed to me (c/o Mary Smith) PO Box 283, Markleville, IN 46056.