Gifted

We are all gifted.

This is a reminder I need to give myself often. We are all created in God’s image and have all been given dignity. Nobody can take that away from another. No personality trait can wipe it away. I have a tendency to judge others, often before I even get to know them. Something about them might irritate me and so I focus on that annoying trait and avoid them or I don’t treat them lovingly. But no matter how annoyed I get by someone, no matter how mad they make me, they still have human dignity. They still have gifts and I need to be better at looking for those gifts God has given each person, and not at the traits that annoy me. Because those annoying traits are more my own issues than that person’s. Lord, give me your eyes to see each person I meet as you see them. Let me not judge others by their looks or perceived intelligence or whatever other standards I have. Lord, free me from the culture of use so I may honor each person’s dignity and love them as you have called me to. Amen.

Trust Him

Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen

Ephesians 3:20-21

The Lord is faithful. Even when I doubt His ability to deliver, He provides and so much more so than I could ever hope for. This is a lesson I have been shown again and again.

I recently applied for the Saint Joseph Worker Program. But I began to doubt whether this was a wise move because I would put off starting my nursing career for a year. Sure, I could get assigned a volunteer placement site within the healthcare field, but none of the already designed positions I qualified for (some required fluency in Spanish) were for nurses. I feared that I would not get the experience I needed to begin a career once my year of service was over. But the Lord is faithful. He provided me with 2 possible sites that are willing to find ways for me to use my nursing skills. But even so, I questioned if not working for a year was a good idea. Would I be able to find a job in a children’s hospital if I spent a year outside of that setting? Would I really be able to develop the skills that I think I need if I’m working in the community? Can I really put off starting to pay back my loans for a year? But I met with one of the sites today. And it looks something amazing could happen if I choose to work with them. And I’d still get to work with kids. There is also a possibility (though I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch) that if all goes well, I could make a career with this organization. That is not something I’d even dared to dream of until now. The Lord saw all of my fears and He met my needs. He knows what is keeping me from trusting Him and is removing that from my path.

How many other areas of my life am I failing to trust Him with? I know that no matter what my plans and expectations are, God will deliver in a way that is so much better than I ever imagined in every area of my life. God is good. I need to stop worrying so much.