Have It To The Full



He turned his head again, with a smirky smile on his face. As if trying to tell me that “he got me!” But I continued to walk down that corridor, unfazed. I was about to start my shift. I was about to go to my work with a joyful heart, no matter what would come my way throughout the night…

I have been working nights for 19 years now. By God’s grace, when I sustained a painful neck injury from the hospital I used to work with, He brought me to a correctional facility, right when I was at the lowest point of my life.



To make a long story short, God did open this door of even a better and bigger opportunity. As soon as I started working in a detention facility, my neck pain had subsided. I didn’t need to lift patients. I didn’t have to deal with heavy Orthopedic kind of appliances like tractions, CPM’s [Continuous Passive Movement machine that exercises those newly-replaced knee joints], and others.



I’m not trying to say that the task is easier. It is not. Here, it’s a different kind of challenge to our Nursing abilities to assess, intervene and immediately treat illnesses or emergencies with the best option that is available.


I swiped my entry card and the electric-controlled gate swung open as I moved forward and found a great parking spot closer to the smaller gates where staff go in and out. Turning off my engine, I talked to the Lord, as I always do every night before going inside the detention facility. “Lord, I don’t know what will happen tonight. But You do. If it’s not too much to ask of You, may we have a quiet night? Lord, I ask for Your protection, for You to be my Shield. Please control my mouth and my tongue and my heart, that whatever I think or say will be pleasing to You. Lord, guide me with Your divine wisdom and give me the discernment, to do everything for Your glory! Use me as Your instrument in helping those who are still lost to find Your love and grace, through me. I thank You Lord for the peace and joy that You give me, despite me going into that dark place, I have nothing to be afraid of, knowing You are there with me.”



I opened the side door, grabbed my transparent bag that housed my little notes, stethoscopes and other things I use for work. With the other hand, I grabbed the see-through plastic bag that contained my sandwich, bottled water and a piece of fruit. I prefer to bring my food from home though we can order any food we want from our ODR [Officer Dining Room].



Swiping my card at every entry points, I reached “North Control” at the bottom part of this facility. It would be just a few steps away from my destination, the facility’s Clinic. I glanced at my watch. It was 11:25 p.m. I got 5 minutes to go before I was about to start my shift. My feet started rushing toward the door that led to the Infirmary.



About 2 feet away, that was when an inmate worker [dressed up in blues], came out of the door. Most of the time, if any inmate would come out, they patiently would wait for me or other staff and would hold the door open for us to go through. Not this particular inmate. He saw me, swung the metal door wide open so that he could let it close with a loud bang [if not on my face, at least, near my face!]. Bam! And it did! He saw me approaching with a couple of bags, one on each of my hand. It was obvious, I didn’t have an extra hand to open that heavy door.



That was when he looked, perhaps to see the kind of reaction his behavior would illicit from me, with that wide smirk, even without my eyeglasses, I would have seen from a distance. He was just so full of it! Full of whatever intentions he had to make me become angry, unhappy, intimidated or be afraid.



“Good night, “ I gently uttered as I smiled and acknowledged his presence. The smile on his face went away. He was dumbfounded. He didn’t expect that. I felt he wanted an angry kind of response. He stopped looking behind him [where I was]. He turned his head to its normal position, bowed his head, and his steps that were heavy as if intentionally done to cause an uproar became softer, softer as he headed down to the unit where he was housed. He never dared look behind him again. I didn’t hear the steps anymore and that body disappeared when the unit let him in.



He didn’t get me, but it is God’s love through me that got him! I might not know what he would still be thinking when he laid down on his bunk in his cell. I was not sure if a simple act of kindness thrown at his rudeness would make him think of what he just did. But one thing was for sure, he was not able to take my “joy” away. He was not able to intimidate me. He was not able to ruin my night!



The door from Infirmary swung open, too and my co-worker had popped it open upon seeing me by the door. I walked in, still with this unexplainable joy despite of what I had just experienced coming from a rude human being. No! My heart is too happy to notice those little annoyances. My heart will always rejoice, despite knowing that I’m working in a dark place where there are too many souls in need of the Light.



“Our unseen enemies are always lurking too, to seek, kill and destroy God’s children’s purpose for the Lord, their happiness, their joy. But no! They won’t succeed. For our God came here to give us lives and have it to the full!” "To the full" and don’t you Christian brothers and sisters forget that! God’s love and other blessings poured into our hearts until it overflows!!! “WE HAVE IT TO THE FULL!”

12 comments:

  1. Aahh! Another amazing and wonderful post!

    I too, when I worked, would pray most nights before heading into work. I knew I would be faced with angry customers, and rude kids that would make my job even more challenging with the things they could do in a retail store environment attached to a very busy mall.

    Every day, I would take a few minutes, and lift my needs up to God and ask that I would provide a great witness to the workings of His power in my life to those that needed it. Then I would smile and ask God if he was ready to go to work.

    I knew I would never be lonely there knowing I had Him to talk to and rely on all day. How true it is with you as well, that even though your physical job may have gotten easier, your spiritual one just got more involved.

    Thank you again for sharing a personal moment in your busy life with all of us.

    Love and Hugs ~ Kat

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  2. I love the prayer you said before your shift..beginning with "“Lord, I don’t know what will happen tonight. But You do" That is a beautiful faith!

    Your stories really move me. Your grace and love is a gift...even without words. You are an instrument in His hands and He delights to use you.

    May you continuet to be granted the blessing of being Christ in that place of dead ends and broken dreams.

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  3. Yes, another wonderful post Rosel. I delight in your stories of your life experiences in lessons, encouragement and inspiration that we come away with as your readers. He definitely uses you in all the ways He wants to use you in such a place of darkness and despair. You are His shining light pouring through from the moment you walk through the door until the moment you leave...leaving behind with some inmates a sense of promise on His behalf and a sense of His peace for those who have been fortunate enough to come in contact with You dear one. He uses You mightily for His purposes. All for His Glory!

    I love you Rosel. Thank you for inspirting me again today and every day that I come here sweet friend.

    Hugs,
    Alleluiabelle

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  4. way to keep your cool! Christians don't have to let circumstances or other people upset our equilibrium, do we? Good post.

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  5. Your response not only disarmed him for the next person who came into his life, it disarmed you for the next person that came into yours. Well done!

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  6. I love the prayer you pray before going into work. Love this post and the graphics make me smile! You so encourage me!

    Bless you,
    Mary

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  7. A soft answer truly does turn away wrath. I love the attitude you have. Yours is not simply a job, it's a means to reach the unreachable. You are truly amazing.

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  8. I look forward to coming to your blog everyday, thanks for allowing God to work through you my friend. I love you.

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  9. You are such a beacon of LIGHT for the Lord! I know He is so pleased with you!

    Thank you for the sweet comment on my post. I agree -- everyone is a winner in this "vote" ... We all have Jesus! Yay!

    Bless you!
    Beth

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  10. I loved this post! God's loved poured in our hearts until it overflows! We have it to the full! Not half or almost full but to the full and overflowing!

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  11. Great post!! It is very encouraging and inspirational. I really love your prayer and how you handle the situation with the inmate and the door incident. I love the fact that you were on guard for satan's ignorant attack and how you defeated it with God's word, His Joy and His Kindness.

    Beautiful post. Thanks for uplifting my spirit.

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  12. Keep up the 'GOOD WORK'! God bless you, my friend.
    Your sister in Christ,
    Bren

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"Faith is taking the first step even if you don't see the whole staircase..."
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