Good Mistakes

Andrew is a wonderful husband. Recently he has been asking me when I come home from work if I made any good mistakes during my shift. You see, I used to feel bad when people would point out to me little things I didn't do right, or forgot to do, or didn't know I was supposed to do. And I would feel like I hadn't been a good nurse that shift. Andrew pointed out to me that the small mistakes I make like not charting someone's orange juice that they drank, or calling the pharmacy instead of sending them a message, or forgetting to check a box on the admission screening tool, these things, especially when pointed out to me by someone else, they cement in my mind that certain thing. And I am far less likely to forget it again. These are mistakes where I am working hard, doing the best job that I can, and really there is not a negative outcome to be seen. So now, when someone has to tell me to do something, or points out what I missed, I think of it as a good mistake to learn from, and ultimately both myself and my patients benefit. And, I get to practice humility all the while. Sweet.

Husbandless

Andrew stayed in Phoenix this week for a wedding, and I returned to Chicago to work. Boo. We both would be utterly miserable if not for the fact that the Lord uses difficulty to grow and mature us. I would love to be with my husband almost every minute of the day. And I enjoy getting to live life with him immensely. So, the long distance thing is really rough. But it truly has reminded me that Andrew is not my all in all. The Lord is my maker and sustainer. He is the one I rely on to get me through the hard days at work and the lonely nights at home. We both find our hope and joy not in each other first and most, but in the Lord. So praise God He enables us to be apart and to do so with a joy rooted in Him. And how sweet that we do get to be together in 37 hours!

Being home

Andrew and I were able to visit both Albuquerque and Phoenix last week for the holidays. I really enjoyed both places. In New Mexico there was lots of crazy family fun, great food, luminarias, and Christmas. Phoenix was wonderful. We were greeted so warmly by our church family, and got to enjoy the hospitality of our good friends who let us stay at their house. (Thanks Colin and Lindsay!).

Talking to people there made me realize that there was a strange mixture of things that were just as we left them, and things that had changed. People dating, people moving, people changing jobs. But the same place, the same flow of life, the same feel. On afternoon there I had along conversation with Andrew about this feeling of getting trapped somewhere where things stay the same. If we move back to Phoenix, will we buy a house, and never move, get stuck in a comfortable life? I don't do well with comfort. It makes me complacent, much less intentional. So do we really want to go back to Phoenix? Andrew and I talked about the fact that we want to be where the Lord is going to use us in ministry. That will be where home is. I have not made much of an attempt to be a part of a ministry out here in Chicago. And thus it feels like there is not much reason to be here. We want the Lord to use us where He has placed us. And so I am looking forward to seeing how the Lord will use me here, and where He will take us in the future to be useful to His kingdom. And where ever that is, we will be home.