It was finally that moment. The one I hadn’t even realized was missing, yet the one whose absence I had tangibly felt. 

It was now late in the afternoon of my Black Friday shift – the second of two very rough days on my unit. So. Much. Stress. Phones. Beeps. Expectations. They kept piling up. It all just kept on piling. The tension had been draining, overwhelming … even palpable at times.

I went into a patient’s room and closed the door. This patient was crippled from a stroke and couldn’t speak, but I talked to her anyways about everything and nothing as I went about my work. Anything to distract her from what I was having to do at that moment. Anything to make her feel that things could still be okay, even though her world was forever changed.

While I may have been happily chattering on the outside, in reality, stress had already moved my mind on to the next patient by that point. So many things to remember before I go into that next room. So. much. still. left. to. do.

That was when it happened. I looked down and our eyes met. Really met. I could almost feel time stop. My phone didn’t ring. There were no interruptions. No beeps. No stress.

It was just this patient and a nurse alone in the quiet. Connecting.

This was the moment that had been missing. I hadn’t actually noticed its absence, yet I had been feeling it for two chaotic days.

Praise be to God for the gift of this single, beautiful moment.

Thanks for growing with me. ❤

“And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:19-20)