Do Not Be Anxious

There was my loved one resting on an ER bed awaiting the final decision from the treating physician. With the partition curtain missing, it was hard to try to rest and relax as we heard commotions, moaning, beeping alarms and some voices asking for nurses’ help. I couldn’t help but wonder if there were many trauma cases that demanded immediate attention from the nursing staff as each came in and competed with what already was chaotic inside. 

How could my loved one relax? The hunger for privacy was impossible from any angle I looked, whether we were the ones on the hallway beds or inside that room. I tried to reassure. It was still better that we were inside the room.

A concerned nurse who took the blood work at the wee hours came in all of a sudden before going home as their change of shift occurred. She offered a warm blanket and to dim the bright light on the ceiling. We immediately thanked her for going out of her way to offer kindness and empathy. If it meant to have some peace and quiet just by closing eyes and dimming the lights, so be it. It was a simple offer but a much needed intervention that came from an overly-worked nurse who, we saw moments before going to assigned bed,  how she remained kind and compassionate when patients were transferred to her care.

What discernment to a body who bared all to needle sticks, vital signs and other probing instruments! A body who I could tell was ready to surrender to sleep but was never able to because of the storm he was in. Yet, through all that, remained calm, patient, never complaining but instead, tried to ask questions to know more about what was going on.

A lot of “Why’s”. Doubts. Fears. 

Don’t we all go through that whether the circumstances happen all of a sudden or not?

During the xray and blood draws, I was told to go outside to the lobby and wait to be called. As I sat with perhaps, three more patients seeking treatments, I saw their worried look on their faces. I wanted to worry myself, too, as I sat on the cold chair and stared on the tv mounted on the wall, without understanding what was being shown. Fear was knocking on my heart’s door but something was stopping it. Each time.

Then… alive Words started flashing in front of me that was hard not to be heard than that tv on the wall:

^“Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. ⁷ And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7 (GNT)

I heard my name being called by an apologetic nurse who thanked me for being patient and understanding. I thanked her instead. I understood the busyness because I was a nurse and was there before. I was in that world where a nurse had a million things to do for several patients at one given time.

“We’re waiting for a bed so your loved one could still be monitored.”

My heart didn’t leap for worries nor fears anymore. I knew that in an hour I waited alone in the lobby in one corner, there was my Refuge Who met me while facing that storm. He surely didn’t stop the storm. But through the heavy downpours and gusty winds, He did calm my heart and that of my loved one’s. All the tests came back normal and that alone was enough for us to rejoice despite that ordeal. The storm didn’t damage us. We came out stronger and went home armed with more knowledge. Thanks be to God, our only Savior.

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength. - Corrie ten Boom

 Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. - Swedish Proverb

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. - Matthew 6:34