His strength is perfect....so perfect...

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength,
But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me.
No great success to show, no glory on my own,
Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know....

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.
He'll carry us when we can't carry on.
Raised in His power the weak become strong,
His strength is perfect....His strength is perfect!

We can only know, the power that He holds,
When we truly see how deep our weakness goes,
His strength in us begins where ours comes to an end,
He hears our humble cry and proves again.

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.
He'll carry us when we can't carry on...
Raised in His power the weak become strong,
His strength is perfect...His strength is perfect!

The theme of my life (but especially the last few weeks) is summarized in the words of the song above. It seems like I've been taxed to my limit, stretched beyond my abilities, and working on borrowed time that I have no way to repay. Yet, I cannot complain because just when I felt I couldn't do or be anymore, God has been faithful...His strength is perfect. Truly His strength is perfect!!

The last few days of my travel nurse contract at Parkview, although hectic, went smoothly. The last evening there, just before shift change, we got five admits all at once, and two of them happened to be mine. I was going in circles trying to keep my head on straight, let alone keep up on all the details. Yet, I could tell God was beside me, giving me peace, and prompting me on my way.

All the moments of my last few days were not stressful though. One day was quite hilarious, actually. I was giving a patient instructions for changing his dressings when he went home, and had a roll of tape in my hand that I was going to give him to take home. As I stood there beside the bed, the tape slipped out of my fingers and did a graceful dive into his glass of water. Water went everywhere...and he looked at me with amazement! "I couldn't do that if I tried." We then both busted up laughing. I cleaned up the water, which had gone everywhere, and threw away the now sopping wet supplies and papers that had been on his table. After everything was clean and dry, I brought him new supplies and a new glass of ice-water which I then promptly....you guess it....flipped again and spilled all over the table. I threw my hands over my face as I squealed, "You did not just see that!!!!" He looked at me with amazement, afraid to laugh, yet about to burst. I spared him the agony of taking the lead as I burst into another fit of laughter, and tears came to my eyes. Not tears of sadness or frustration, but rather tears of "this is sooo hilarious I cannot contain myself!" (Other nurses looked in the room to make sure we were ok. I only laughed harder!) Finally after I got everything cleaned up and dry for the second time, we looked at each other again. "I'm not sure if you should bring me another glass of water," he grinned. "I'm not sure either..." I replied as I wiped the few remaining tears of laughter out of my eyes. "But you need water, and I need to learn how to not be such a klutz...and since you seem like a good subject to practice on, I am going to bring you your water." Thankfully this time the glass did not flip, and I made a quick exit out of the room before I made any more mistakes. However, I was laughing about the situation the rest of the afternoon.

Yes, I've had my tough days at Parkview (as I've had everywhere I've worked as a nurse). Yet, as my last day of this contract came to an end, I was actually kinda sad to leave and I find myself dreaming of possibly going back in the future. Not sure what God has in mind for me next...but for now, I'm thankful for a little breath of fresh air and some time to devote to other pursuits. Yes, keeping my patients alive and the doctors happy is important...but I'm ready for a change of pace and scenery. ;-)

And a change of pace and scenery is all too soon to come. I'm flying out with Sunny and Tim on Tuesday (leaving Loma Linda at 3am) to go to Minneapolis MN to help with GYC. This year I got pulled in to help with Registration, so have been working with the Registration and logistics team getting ready for the conference. After spending hours and hours working on Excel spreadsheets and making modifications and updates as people have made changes to their registration, I have a lot more respect and admiration for all those that work behind the scenes with GYC and other such organizations. Wow! It's a lot of work! On top of that, I've also been trying to help our CCBN team settle on a logo, develop a booth theme for the conference, and I've been trying to get packed to be gone for a month. After the conference, I'll be going home to Oklahoma for a couple weeks, then I'll be going home to Arkansas for a couple weeks. So...lots to do and lots to think about. I might consider feeling overwhelmed and be tempted to throw in the towel sometimes...but then once again, I am reminded, "His strength is perfect."

Hmmmm....maybe that needs to be my "new years resolution." Don't wait til you get to the end of your own strength and resources to "let Him work." Just LET HIM!!! ;-) Yeah, I still have lots of "letting" to do...but day by day and year by year, I am learning...despite all my mistakes and blunderings, despite my shaky hands or fearful heart...He's still there for me, and His love and strength does not change. He is perfect!