A new year, continued belief

As I begin a new year of life- yay 23!- I read something on a blog that I wanted to share:

"Believing isn't rooted in your personal power or inner strength. Believing is about waking up every morning and taking up your cross daily. It's about knowing and understanding that no matter how trashy things may look, Yahweh has a plan that He's working for good through His children. Believing must be a daily choice and a way of life. 

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, was God's spokesperson during a rotten time in Israel. The nation faced exile, death, destruction affliction, torment, separation from God... not a pleasant list. Jerusalem was sacked and burned on August 14, 586BC with Jeremiah most likely nearby watching the flame. 

Yet, reflecting on all of this in Lamentations 3:22, Jeremiah records this amazing idea "Because of the Lord's faithful love, we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness! I say: the Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in Him."

Definitely a good verse to memorize as I get ready for another year of adventure and unknowns!

Summer??

Summer has officially begun. In Boston that means using an umbrella regularly, it has been fun enjoying warmer days and visitors!

The days are still bizarre as i sleep when most people work and work when you should be sleeping... and then the days that i try and stay awake are just crazy. These sleepless days are highly enjoyable as everything seems a little funnier when you're not completely alert! Last friday was such a day.

After finishing a 12 hour shift, I left the hospital and went to pick up Ellen's mother in law. yes, I was entertaining my friend's mother-in-law! I enjoyed getting to know this awesome South African woman and had really good conversation about education, health care, and soccer. 

The two of us headed downtown for a haircut. we rushed back to cambridge in order for me to get a couple hours sleep before I needed to be at the airport to pick up Megan! Megan flew in from Indianapolis a few days before her conference started so she could see this awesome city i live in! Friday night however, we briefly saw the inside of a restaurant before heading home so i could get to work on time. It was definitely a busy 36hrs!

My time with Megan was wonderful as we got to explore Boston and Cambridge with Carrie's dad, who was also in town for a visit. We did some things that I had previously done, but also tried out some new things and enjoyed simply being in Boston. Staying in a hotel in your own city is also an incredible luxury and I enjoyed staying with Megan in her hotel room one night!

Megan and I enjoyed a Harbor Cruise- with a great view of Boston!

Then i worked a 40 hour week while anticipating Steph's arrival on Friday. 

Unfortunately, Steph couldn't get to Boston from Chicago until Saturday afternoon due to weather. When she was here we had a great time celebrating my impending birthday with some other friends at a BBQ and catching up on life! Our time together was WAY too short, but I feel lucky to have had any time with her at all.

Summer with a full time job doesn't hold the same excitement as summers away from school. But, I'm so thankful to have visitors to get excited about and a job that allows me to enjoy the sunshine, if it ever decides to come out!

Here are some pictures from Summer 2009!:

Me and Andrew (before he headed to NC for the summer) after seeing Spring Awakening in Boston

at Hope Fellowship's Passport to the Nations Night (I joined the Japanese!)

My roommates and I enjoyed a Red Sox/Yankees Game at Fenway!! not too shabby for the my first game!

my "patient" (Laura had just had a wisdom tooth removed that morning!) and I before the game!!

we were prepared for freezing temps and a rainy 9 innings!

waiting...

God has been teaching me about being patient and waiting. I've been learning a lot on patience, but waiting sure is difficult.

I waited for direction with what job to take, and took the one job offer I got here in Boston because it was clearly God's leading, even if it wasn't what I was expecting to go into. Adult Oncology has been very difficult, challenging, and has provided great opportunities to learn. Now Youville has been bought out. (news article is here) Spaulding Rehab is one of the top 7 rehab facilities in the country and is joined with Partners Continuing Health, which encompasses some of the major Boston hospitals! I feel so fortunate to have no concern about job security, and now have many new opportunities presenting themselves as the buy out finalizes. 

what an awesome reminder of how good God is! I need to remember that in God's timing, everything works out to his glory. Maybe that's actually what God has been teaching me about all along

Strong Enough?

I wasn't sure what my first nursing job was going to be... I was hoping I might work in the ER, or somewhere else full of energy, I thought I would at least be saving lives, and helping people while they were getting better. I hoped that the job would challenge me, but not be too difficult. I hoped that the shift wouldn't be hard to get used to. I hoped many things.

God had other plans. 

I'm working night shift on an adult oncology unit. This means that my patients all have some form of cancer and while they may be getting stronger, they have all had their lives drastically changed by the disease. The learning curve has been interesting and challenging and I have gotten to be on the cutting edge of medicine (we will be the only hospital to give Temodar (a chemo med) intravenously as of Monday!), but the job is not the life saving euphoria I was hoping for after school. 

Instead of healing patients, I am holding patient's hands as they face death. Last night I prayed with a patient almost the entire night as she asked God to see her daughter one more time, I have written goodbye letters to family members dictated by patients, I have read Bible passages as patients fall asleep because they are afraid of falling asleep. I get to prepare bodies for the morgue, and I get to be with the families while they say goodbye.

I'm so glad I get to share in these moments, but these are not the things you have prepared for, these are not the circumstances that I expected to face.

I'm not sure how to deal with it all; many of my experiences go unprocessed, often because I know that I don't know how to process it. I thank God that I get to see this part of life and that He brought me to a place that would allow me to pray with patients, read the Bible out loud, and share in spiritual discussions with my patients, but I get worried when I start to think of my job as just a job and forget that there is more than politics, sore legs, and angry people that make the job worthwhile. I pray that I would be strong enough to be where God has called me.

Things that make you Smile

A lot of things make me smile. I smile when I get mail, drink chai, go to work, leave work, meet a friend, get a phone call :)

but sometimes I smile extra big... these smiles are reserved for the unexpected things in life. Today, as I was walking down my street a man riding his bicycle passed me. This is usually a normal part of life in a city.... but this man was riding a 7 foot tall bike with a HUGE disco ball extending up from his handle bars and a loud boom box playing! He was dressed normally (not as a clown or anything) and I have let myself believe that he was just enjoying riding his bike! My grin was huge as I turned into the apartments and wondered about this man. I hope he enjoyed his ride as much as I did! :D

Feels Like Home...

Dad, me, and Mom at Kinkokuji

Court, me and Mom at Kinosaki (Hot Springs Village)

me and Court at Amanohashidate

the infamous hawk (yes, my heart still races when i see this)

I was finally able to return to Japan after moving away 7 years ago! What a rush of emotions it was to be back. Japan has always felt like "home" to me, but I wasn't sure if it would still be familiar... 

On my flight from O'Hare to Narita (a flight i have taken many times!) I truly felt as though I was heading home. I guess I like back in a place where I can't understand everything, where I can impress people by being myself (a caucasian!) and where everything is new and adventurous. 

It was so incredible to be able to share this trip with Courtney- her laughter will always be remembered in my memories of these 10 days! (even if it was usually directed towards me...)

Highlights from the trip include: being dive-bombed by a hawk, going to 5 hot springs in one night while also walking through a quaint Japanese village in yukatas and geta, talking in Japlish, seeing old teachers and their families, eating so much food!, seeing mom and dad

It definitely was great to be home, and difficult to come back to reality. I'm already anxiously awaiting my next trip to the land of the rising sun

Crazy Times!

I was starting to have a regular routine, night shift was beginning to not feel so completely weird, I was meeting with friends, going to bible study, enjoying "regular life"... then March started... what a month this has already been!!

The month started off with a Valpo visitor! It was so great to catch up with Tyler, as well as show off my new town.

 

Me and Tyler in Fenway

The roommates (Laura and Carrie) with Tyler at 10 Tables

It was an exhausting weekend as we did everything we could in the city! It was gr

eat as we did a lot of things that I already knew, but we also tried some new things including going to the top of the prudential building, Ten Tables (a new restaurant in Harvard Sq), and walking around Fenway! Showing off Boston made me really excited for warmer months and some of the activities that will be available once winter is over! (yay Red Sox/Yankees in June!)

Tyler left, I worked 4 days, then I headed to INDIANAPOLIS!

My sorority sister, and good friend

 Jen was getting married! It was awesome to be able to celebrate with her on such an exciting day. it was really fun to be back in the midwest, with a bunch of Kappas and other Valpo friends! 

me and Katie with the programs                             Kappas at the wedding!!

  

me and my big! Sunshine love!

Wedding!

the beautiful bride!