Crisis, faith & my work
6:30 a.m. My alarm goes off. I get out of bed, get up, read my daily devotional and get ready to face another day at work. 30-minute drive there, 35(ish) minute drive home. Today’s a long day; not home until about 6:35 in the evening. The long days have indeed been long; little did I know how long those long days would come to be.
I am a nurse. I’ve been working in the frontlines of this COVID-19 outbreak since March 16. That was actually the day I started my most recent job. The day before that, I completed my last day of working inpatient behavioral health, the only field of nursing I had ever worked in since my career started in 2013. No rest in between days; leave one job and start the next. A week after my new job started, the changes implemented by the governor to keep the state safe from the rapidly spreading COVID-19 begin to take place.
Meanwhile, at work new policies go into effect, nearly every day it seems regulations and guidelines are changing. All the while I’m still learning this job; most of which I’ve learned as I go. There is a lot of fear, uncertainty, frustration, anger and more as the days to come are spent often in isolation. Understandable. So, one may ask how I as a Christian am doing in all of this? How am I as a frontline healthcare worker coping with these changes, all the while keeping steadfast in His promises?
Colossians 3:23 says “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” I’ve considered my line of work to be a calling from God. I am a nurse, as I mentioned, but I work in addictions, those who are in recovery from drugs, alcohol, or both. It’s a challenging line of work, but also very rewarding.
I do my best to serve my clients in a way that is pleasing to God, and I do my best to serve my colleagues as well. In the midst of this pandemic, there’s one thing I’ve become accustomed to practicing.
Gratitude. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians, 5:18.
Some may ask how one can be grateful in these times? People have lost their jobs. Businesses are facing closure. In the state of Massachusetts, I read that the county I live in has the second highest number of confirmed cases. So again, how am I grateful?
I’m grateful I have a job I can still go to every day, and for those who are out of work at this time, know I am praying for how God can meet your needs.
I’m grateful for the peace of God. At work, things have been slower and quieter than what I am used to. I left a very chaotic work environment and am learning to praise God in these moments of stillness, peace and tranquility.
I’m grateful for the love and support from my family, friends, coworkers and church. Not to mention my family is all healthy and my close friends, some of which are also frontline healthcare workers, are healthy as well.
I’m grateful for my own health, as two days into this new job I faced the possibility of being exposed. Fortunately, enough time has passed to where that is no longer a possibility and a danger.
I’m grateful for the support that the social media community has shown to healthcare workers. Please know that your love and support has not returned void and it has made this sacrifice a little easier to endure day by day.
I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to educate others during this time, to replace those moments of fear with facts and faith. Faith in the sense that this, all of this, can and will one day pass away. In the Great Commission, Jesus’s last words to His disciples were “I am with you always.” Friends, God is with us. He hears us. He knows us and He loves us. Philippians 4:6 says “don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything (NLT).” In 1 Peter it says, “cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.”
Talk to God. Tell Him what’s on your mind. If you’re angry, tell Him. If you’re scared, tell Him. If you’re anxious, tell Him. Believe me; He can handle the truth! He wants to hear from you, and He longs for us to communicate with Him! I know times are difficult right now, believe me. I understand. But I’ve resorted to give all of this to God and leave the results up to Him.
He invites us all to do the same.
I’ll close with this from John 16:33 “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Kelly Korb is a member of Hope Community Church in Marlborough, MA.