I wanted to be a nurse, so at age 14, I was a volunteer Candy Striper at a Dallas hospital. The unique title went with the candy cane, red & white-striped pinafores that we wore. I took flowers and mail to patients, refilled their water jugs, and other incidental duties.
Those nursing plans were dashed when I married my handsome 18-year-old sweetheart. I became an office clerk to help put him through college. The next year, I gave birth to our son. If I had it to do all over again — I\u2019d do it all over again! That was the journey that God destined for us!
Unexpectedly in our journey of faith, I did become an \u201cunofficial\u201d nurse \u2013 not as I had dreamed it to be, but one God called me to at the time. My husband had a severe staph infection after the back surgery to remove the tumor from his spinal cord. It required eight weeks of antibiotics by I.V.
After brief training, I was able to give him the I.V. three times a day. I\u2019ll admit my hesitancy. It was a critical responsibility that I had only witnessed the “pros” perform in the hospital. At first, it seemed overwhelming, with so many sterilizing techniques, flushing the lines, clamping, and not clamping, and calculating the drip timing, but I got it down quite well.
The challenges we faced were often daunting, and Nurse Donna continued to be on duty until my sweet man graduated to heaven. We NEVER wavered from our STAND of faith. God\u2019s Word was our surest foundation in every turn of the road in our journey. We knew our faith, as well as the prayers and support of friends and family, who stood with us. We had the tenacity to “STAND” and press on to the finish line.
I grew up watching the cartoon character, Popeye the Sailor Man. His rival for Olive Oyle (his girlfriend) was Bluto \u2013 a grungy overweight guy that tormented Popeye. Bluto would get on Popeye\u2019s last nerve. Popeye declared: \u201cI\u2019ve stands as long as I can stand, and I can\u2019t stands no more!\u201d That\u2019s when he\u2019d open a can of spinach (his power secret), eat it and whoa-la \u2013 Bluto was down and out.
That story was a stretch, but the premise is the same. One of the songs that was near and dear to our hearts \u2013 even before my husband\u2019s illness was Donnie McClurkin\u2019s song, \u201cStand\u201d. The lyrics undergirded us. That song and our wholehearted trust in God was our \u201cspinach\u201d. It was our power secret. We never wavered in our STAND.
I don\u2019t know what you\u2019re going through today. I give these words to you to encourage you in whatever role you may find yourself in — as someone\u2019s nurse, caregiver, companion, friend, or even the one that is the recipient of the love and care. Wherever your journey takes you, today, or in the future, let these words resonate within you and encourage you to keep STANDING!
\u201cSTAND\u201d, by Donnie McClurkin
Tell me, what do you give when you’ve given your all,
And it seems like you can’t make it through?
Well you just stand, when there’s nothing left to do.
You just stand, watch the Lord see you through.
Yes, after you done all you can, you just stand.
You just stand, and endure,God has a purpose, yes, God has a plan.
Don’t you dare give up through the storm, stand through the rain,
Through the hurt, yes, through the pain,
Don’t you bow, and don’t bend, don’t give up, no, don’t give in.
Hold on, just be strong, God will step in and it won’t be long.
After you’ve gone through the storm, after you gone through the rain,
After you done all you can…..you just stand.
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