Pride can be a good thing

Pride is bad. That's what everyone says. Be humble and if you aren't a humble person pray for humility and God take care of that one real quick!

Well what if you take pride IN something? What if you take pride in your marriage or raising your children or your profession? I just cannot imagine taking pride in important things such as these could ever be a negative thing.

As I have said before I am a big fan of the "little things" in life. But one big thing that I take pride in that may not be entirely popular is my job. Ever since I was a young girl I knew that whatever I did with my life I would help others. I remember watching a documentary on Mother Teresa when I was in third grade. I was not like a lot of kids. She died about a month before my birthday that year and even though I had heard about her I felt a sense of loss that I would not ever really know about the things she did to change the world... at least not in real time.

The more I learned about her the more I was amazed. There was nothing that could stand in her way. No disease or weather conditions or nay-sayers would stop her work. She said that "the biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted." She said that "each of them is Jesus in disguise." I would love to say that I have the same saintly qualities of Mother Teresa but I am not there. Not even close. But if I can emulate a fraction of that love to the people that I serve in MY work then by God...

Today and tomorrow we are expecting a foot of snow and ice on top of the foot of snow that we just got a few days ago. Yeah, some melted yesterday but now all that water will be ice. It makes driving conditions less than ideal but I will make it to work. I am needed.

I mean no disrespect to people of other professions because every job is important but to be a nurse or doctor or firefighter or paramedic in this situation gives you pride... the good kind. I am proud of the fact that I am part of a group of people that loves strangers so much that they will take the risk of driving in treacherous conditions to be there for them. Because if we aren't there to take care of them... who do they have?

I love my patients. My job is far from glamorous but I deal with with the blood and other body fluids and needles just so I can offer a smile or hold some one's hand when they tell me how scared they are. I guess you could say that the work that nurses do is humbling. I feel like that a lot. Because it was Mother Teresa that also said "We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do."

I hope I make it to work tomorrow.