The Best of Both Worlds...

"We and the world interpenetrate.

We are in the world like salt in the ocean.

I myself am my own door to the world

and in a sense

the world is the door to myself."

~James Finley

As I depart the Monastery twice a week to travel to Birmingham for my nursing ministry at St. Vincent's, Birmingham, the words from Ps. 121 come to mind as I exit the front gate- "The Lord will guard your coming and going both now and forever." I leave the peaceful environment of my monastic home and journey through rush hour traffic to get to work on time, wondering the whole way how stressful the day will be. Most everyday is very busy, yet some days are enjoyable because of low census during holiday weekends. As I travel, I ask for God's grace to be an instrument of his love to all my patients, the vistors, and my co-workers. Even with 36 years of nursing experience, there still is the ongoing struggle of how to put the spirituality component into my nursing practice, how to merge my religious life with the secular world. In my heart and my mind, I know these two worlds are not separate; there is only one world. Yet, I fail at times to be constantly aware of this conviction as I begin to handle the unexpected events of the fast-paced hospital world.

Yesterday was one of those days. The unpredictable kept happening and happening and happening and happening. I was lucky to get a lunch break at 1:30 pm only because I thought I might pass out if I didn't get something to eat or drink and I knew I still had too much to do- no time to pass out! After lunch, I felt better and planned to make my rounds, finish my charting, give report, and leave ON TIME. But oh, no, everything started happening and happening and happening again. I left an hour late. On the ride home I tried to recollect God's presence in this "ordinary" day of my life. The only response that came to mind was "Priscilla, you did the best you could. Let it go!"

Before I went to bed, I re-lived my day for a glimpse of something sacred, but I still only heard "Priscilla, you did the best you could. Let it go!"

During my prayer time this morning, I recalled a sacred glimpse of yesterday. As the oncoming nurse and I were making walking rounds, one of the patients thanked me for taking such good care of her. I told her I would keep her in prayer. Due to my exhaustion at the time, I did not recognize this as a graceful moment. But God gifted me with the sacred awareness of this event this morning. A revelation that I can carry as a mantra each day to work. God walks with me in my ministry whether I am aware of it or not. He "guards my coming and going both now and forever."

I recalled a prayer I wrote a couple of years ago for a Nurse's Week Awareness event:

A Nurse's Prayer

Bless my heart, Lord

this day and everyday

as I go from room to room

with that sense of doom

burdened by the hectic pace of the day.

Bless my heart, Lord,

this day and everyday

as I respond to my patients' needs

with the same patience and compassion

you showed in all your life's deeds.

Bless my heart, Lord,

this day and everyday

as you walk each step with me,

comforting me through each frustration,

reminding me that compassion is the key.

Bless my heart, Lord,

this day and everyday

as you open my eyes to truly see

your face in all I meet,

a reflection of you I am called to be.

Bless my heart, Lord,

this day and everyday,

when at bedtime hour I recall

the compassionate touches of love I gave

and the failures you forgave.

Bless my heart, Lord,

this night and every night

to begin another day aright.

This prayer is fitting for "both" of my worlds. It is the prayer I take with me on my "coming and going...both now and forever." To use the words of one of my favorite authors, Sister Macrina Wiederkehr, OSB

"May it come to pass."