‘BUT IF IT DIES, IT BEARS MUCH FRUIT’

I am in awe of the way the Lord orchestrates our lives so they glorify Him. My mother and I share the same birthday, and since she passed away, I’m often bitter on that day each year because she isn’t with me. Earlier in my life, this bitterness led me to only superficially care for those around me; I wasn’t able to see the larger vision the Lord had for me. After feeling unfulfilled in my advertising career, I turned to my mother’s profession and enrolled in nursing school. It was there that I realized the practice of caring for others as a whole is just what the Lord does. Now as a pediatric nurse, my vision and love for others has expanded immensely as I care for not just their physical needs, but also their emotional and spiritual ones. I’ve been able to share my story with patients, and pray with them if they ask me. Nursing has given me the opportunity to love and empathize with others on a level I never experienced.  In John 12, Jesus says, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Just as the Lord gave His life for us so we may have eternal life, we should die to our selfish and negative ways and in turn, serve and love others as the Lord intended. I now see that suffering is not a curse, but a way to find the Lord in every situation. I have fallen in love with postpartum care and, upon digging and talking to others, learned that my mother’s career and passion centered around caring for new moms after they gave birth. My dream is to set up postpartum care retreats that will bring back the culture and practice of nurturing the mother for the health of the baby and the whole family. Although living without my mother has been difficult, her legacy and passion to serve others has been planted in me like a seed. The Lord in His wisdom and loving care softened the soil of my heart and caused this seed to grow. Now I want it to grow in these grandchildren of hers.