As some of you know, this past January I went back to school...again. After graduating both from Elim Bible Institute and Roberts Wesleyan College, I am now on the road to completing another adventure at Lehigh Carbon Community College (LCCC). "What in the world are you going to school for now?" you may ask. Simple: Nursing.
Sharing this news with people frequently leads to questions about why I'm changing my major, how this is a different path, and perhaps I'm losing my focus.
I'm writing this entry to share with you the beginning of this journey and my heart on why I am pursuing a degree in Nursing.
On January 12, 2010 an earthquake rocked Haiti that left complete devastation. Last year, Japan suffered an Earthquake, Tsunami, and Nuclear Meltdown. Everyday there are men, women, and children all over the world being touched by famine, hardship, and lack of resources. It breaks my heart.
I learned a few years ago that if you really want to get down to the passion in your heart, you have to find the things that move you. Truth is, whatever you are doing, if it doesn't move you then it won't move anyone else either. There are two things that I find utterly gut-wrenching. The first, is the tragedy that countless children do not have access to an education. I found myself in the Kuwait airport on my first trip to India with sobbing tears streaming down my face as I read the statistics of worldwide education in Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: Moving from Affluence to Generosity. They dream of being lawyers, doctors, teachers, fashion designers, scientists, and more just like the rest of us, but few have the chance to see those things become a reality. It's simply not fair. I am SO over-privileged to even be writing this blog about going to school when so many children do not have the means to meet their dreams. I took TESOL at Elim and I knew in that moment that if the opportunity ever arose for me to teach in a foreign country, I would. I am not qualified by some standards, but someone who wants to learn how to write their name doesn't care about whether you have a Master's degree. Think about it.
The second thing that breaks my heart is unequal wealth of healthcare. People die every single day of perfectly treatable and even curable diseases; but they don't have access to help. Whether it be a matter of location, money, or political corruption, this is an injustice. Jude was watching a program the other day about children who were born with a cleft palate in a country in Western Africa. The narrator said that there are only about 4-5 doctors in that specific country who can perform the surgery, yet there are over 180,000 children who need it. My heart hit the floor. Help is available. Vaccines are available. But for some reason, help isn't available.
I will not pretend that I'm some Saint on a crusade to end injustice. I am just one little person whose heart breaks knowing that I have something others don't. Knowing that I have been blessed with a million resources and opportunities and that I can help.
If you know me, I hope that by now you know that my heart has always been to travel to harsher parts of the world and bring hope. But I am learning that it's hard to tell something that Jesus is the Bread of Life if they're starving and you don't feed them. In Luke 10:9 Jesus says, "Heal the sick there and tell them, 'the Kingdom of God has come near to you.'"
I am not changing my major, taking a different path, or losing my focus. I believe that it is the heart of God to help those that are in need and bring hope to the hopeless. We are His vehicle. I am holding onto Luke 10:9 with my whole heart knowing, absolutely knowing, that I am supposed to go to nursing school. It doesn't happen that often that a person knows with their whole being something that they're meant to do, and I don't want to forget why I'm starting this Journey. I still haven't received my letter on whether or not I was accepted into the program, but I am so sure of this step in my life that if I don't get in this year I will simply apply again. It's not easy. There are many days that I doubt whether or not I am capable of accomplishing this goal, but I know that with God all things are possible. One day in the near future, I hope to be sitting in a field holding the hand of someone who is finally getting the medical help they need and being able to tell them about the tangible love of God.
If you made it to the end of this post, I hope that you find what drives you-the passion in your heart-and I hope that you follow it no matter what the cost. You will not regret it. One person can change the world by changing people's lives. That's you. And me. We're all in this together.
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