The Anchor Holds
It has been many months since I’ve blogged. It isn’t because I haven’t had things on my mind or ideas I’ve felt were worthy to share, it’s that I’ve been learning my new self, finding my new groove and putting pieces of my life back together. Focusing on being and staying a survivor! (: That has taken a whole lot of energy and focus and I’m just so thankful to feel stronger, healthier and alive! I am looking forward to finding time to write and share again and hope to get back to a creative rhythm soon! Today, though, I want to share something I came across while going through some old books in my house. It’s a keynote address I wrote for Kettering College’s nursing dedication ceremony a few years ago. I spoke to new nursing students and the theme of the ceremony was resilience. Resilience seems appropriate for today even more than it did in 2016 given the year we have all lived, so I thought I would share it with you. It is addressed to nurses, but the principles I shared with them can certainly apply to any of us. The very principles I shared with them more than 4 years ago have guided me over the past year and a half as I have faced one of the greatest adversities of my life. Feel free to read the address below - and if you are a nurse, clinician, any other healthcare professional or someone who cares for others in any capacity, I hope it especially speaks to you as God spoke to me when I wrote it (:
The theme for this address is centered around resiliency. Various definitions of resilience include the capability to return to original form after being bent, compressed… stressed. The ability to recover from adversity. The ability to bounce back. Recoil…
I promise you, as a professional nurse, you will face adversity. You will be bent. You will be stretched. You will feel compressed and stressed. Because of this reality, resiliency is a huge focus in healthcare and professional nursing right now. There’s a lot of research being conducted on burnout and compassion fatigue, and strategies nurses can utilize to combat the symptoms and truly harmful effects that both can have on us mentally, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and physically. I’ve seen the effects of burnout up close and it ain’t pretty! It’s very real. Feelings of fatigue have left really amazing, very talented and compassionate nurses feeling cynical, empty and apathetic. I’ve read books and articles, and have attended workshops on how to manage workload and employ healthy coping mechanisms into my every day life and practice. I’ve found that much of the information and “tools” given to us for how to be resilient center around self-help and self-care. I’ve learned the importance of meditation, exercise, eating a healthy diet, maintaining meaningful relationships, getting adequate sleep… the list goes on and on. While I know those things are very important and absolutely necessary, I just can’t help but feel there’s more to it.
When I was asked to speak on resiliency, I started looking back over my life and the many, many times I could have and probably, according to the world’s standards, should have given up and thrown in the towel (thankfully I didn’t!), but I have faced some incredibly challenging seasons of my life. I’m not gonna lie - there were many times I thought it would be easier to just walk away. One time when I was feeling like giving up, my sweet dad said to me “Honey, it’s okay. Just throw down your anchor. You may not be moving forward, but don’t let this difficult time push you backwards.” Those wise words from my father have stuck with me ever since, and that is the advice I’ve given to others many times - just as I am sharing with all of you now.
You see, in my experience, I have found the key to resiliency is staying anchored spiritually. It’s important to remember that as nurses we are not only called to be competent in our knowledge and proficient in our nursing tasks and skills, but we are called to be instruments of hope, and faith, and healing, and light, and love to our patients and to each other. We cannot offer those things to others if we do not possess them ourselves. And the only way for us to truly be effective, to keep coming back renewed, to have the ability to offer that hope, faith, healing, light and love to our patients is to remain anchored in the truth of The One who created us and called us to this sacred work.
So how do we do it? How, in the midst of tremendous pressure, while bearing witness to suffering and tragedy every day, while living in this very broken world, how do we stay anchored? I’d like to offer you a few brief and simple principles to hold close in your hearts:
1) Remember who He is - and when I say “He” I mean our creator, God. Our God is the creator of the universe. He is the creator of us. He cares so much about us that he gave us his son, Jesus. He cares about everything that happens in our lives - from the really big things to the smallest of details. You think he cares when you’re feeling overwhelmed or discouraged? You better believe he does! There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that describe who God is. From the beginning of time, to the very last book of the Bible, we can read to learn about his character. Deuteronomy says “He is the God of gods, and Lord of lords, mighty and awesome who shows no partiality.” He loves us all equally! The Bible also says God goes with us and fights for us against adversity. We learn that God is our refuge, our rock, our fortress - in HIM we are safe. Samuel said “Who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” David said “God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me.” He went on to say “He is my mighty rock, my refuge” and he instructs us to “Trust in God at all times and pour our your hearts to him for God is our refuge.” We learn that God is gracious and righteous and full of compassion. One of the most encouraging verses to me is in 2 Corinthians that says “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” - When you feel on the verge of defeat, or you start to feel tired, go to this God who loves you and protects you and gives you all you need to overcome whatever it is you may be facing, and rest in this truth from Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you - plans to prosper you and not harm you - plans to give you hope and a future.” How incredible it is to know that the God of the Universe, the God who created us has plans to bless and prosper us! Hold on to that promise when you feel discouraged…
2) Remember who you are and who you belong to! I will just tell you right now - and you’ve heard me use the term “sacred work” already - the work of a nurse is truly spiritual; sacred. As a nurse, you will care for human beings, human souls, that are facing the scariest, loneliest, most painful and vulnerable times of their lives. You will be the one your patients and their loved ones look to for answers and that hope and healing I mentioned earlier. This can feel overwhelming and in our humanness, we can feel inadequate and unprepared to take on such responsibility. There will be times where you will feel insecure and maybe like you’re just not cut out for this. In those times, remember who you belong to. Remember that you were created with this very journey in mind. Remember that you were formed with exactly the talents, the smarts, and the abilities to fulfill this calling in your life. Jeremiah 1:5 says “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” You are such a big deal to God that he specially, specifically designed you. The Bible says we have been wonderfully and fearfully made, and in the book of Genesis, in the very beginning when God created the world, the Bible says we were created in the very image and likeness of God. Think about that. You have been created in the very image of God! Of course this doesn’t mean we look like him physically, but that we have been created with a thinking mind that has the ability to discern, a heart that can give and receive love, and free will to make our own choices. Created in the image of God… He has given us everything we need to succeed. It’s there. Don’t let the pressures and stresses of the world make you lose sight of who you are, and who you belong to!
3) Remember your purpose. Your calling. Remember why you do what you do… In my role as a nurse leader, I have had many opportunities to spend time with my staff who are feeling the effects of compassion fatigue. In moments when they have voiced frustrations or feeling like walking away, I have encouraged them to take a step back and take themselves back to the time they chose to become a nurse, and to remember why they made that decision. It’s easy to get caught up in the every day demands and distractions of our lives - so much so that we can lose our sense of purpose. In her book, “Where there is Love, there is God,” Mother Teresa gives us this very wise instruction: “You must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure make you forget that you have been created for greater things.” So, what are those “greater things?” According to the Bible, it’s actually fairly simple: We have been created to love. First, we are to love God with all our hearts, strength and minds, then we are to love others as we love ourselves… Another awesome little nugget of wisdom from Mother Teresa is this: “Faith in action is love. Love in action is service.” There is no doubt that being a nurse is being in service to others. And being a nurse fulfills our life’s purpose - to love. Don’t lose sight of this truth. Strive every day to keep your purpose - your calling - at the center of your work. Holding this in your heart will make you much less vulnerable to burnout and fatigue.
If, however, you do find yourself feeling less than fulfilled, or questioning your purpose, find a quiet place to get away from the world for a while and focus on these truths. Ask God to renew your heart and spirit and to help you stay focused on the prize. You will be amazed at what even a little bit of time with Him will do.
Being resilient. Having the ability to rebound. To regain original shape after being stretched, compressed, bent or stressed… having the ability to recover from adversity. Learn how to be resilient by staying spiritually anchored. Practice throwing out that anchor now - while facing whatever it is you may be facing. Get to know God and learn now, who he is. Learn now, who you are and how incredibly special and important you are to God and how much potential you have to truly make a difference through use of the talents and abilities he has given you. Learn now that staying connected to your purpose will pull you through the tough times and will keep you moving forward and coming back renewed.
And when you’re facing a challenge, remember it’s okay to not be moving forward at that moment - just don’t let that difficult situation push you backwards. Throw out your anchor. Steady the boat. Stay connected to God, and when the storm passes, He will give you exactly what you need to move forward.
In closing I want to leave you with this scripture from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - “That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now, rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
