waking up

And do you feel that resilience way deep down inside,
though your bones may ache and your head may pound,
that there is still more to see, more to learn, more to do,
That You won't be defeated lying down.

sick day

I skipped clinicals today. Well, I didn't skip... I was excused. I woke up sick this morning and made the executive decision to call in to my instructor and sleep off the pounding headache and the itchy sore throat. When I opened my eyes again, it was 10:30 a.m. and the sunlight was filtering through my blinds. I lay there looking across the peaceful quiet of my room. Everything was in it's place.

Being sick today was a major blessing.

There is something so peaceful about waking up and feeling no pressure to do anything or please anyone.  I held on to the quiet moments as I made a latte and sat down with a book (a non-school book, hooray!) and some Jadon Lavik hymn remakes. Eventually  I buckled down and did some homework, but I kept remembering something that an aunt of mine used to tell me. Something about how getting sick was God's way of telling us to slow down in life, to stop pushing ourselves so hard.

Nursing school is full of pushing. Your parents push you, your classmates push you, your instructors push you, and goodness, you push yourself. You always have to do better, be a better nurse because people's lives are in your hands. But there's a point that when you're pushed so much that you get pushed down instead of being pushed forward. And that's when it's time to take a moment. Breathe. Have some coffee. Spend time with the Creator. Enjoy the morning sunshine.