God Made a Nurse
In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth.
He did this in seven days.
Sometime after the eighth day, God saw that humans needed a special kind of person to take care of them.
He needed someone to respond to a calling,
And hold the hand of other humans through the toughest of times;
So God made – a nurse.
He knew we needed someone with the grit to not get out of sorts at the sight of blood;
to help people survive heart attacks and strokes and catastrophes;
to keep a person alive with hoses, tubes and wires;
to hold it together when everyone else is falling apart, no matter the situation;
and give hope – when there is none.
So God made a nurse.
He needed someone who could explain complex situations
and procedures but in a way grandpa could understand it;
monitor vital signs and tell the doctor what the patient needs and when;
calculate and know the difference between milligrams and milliliters
hear a heartbeat as both an algorithm – and an emotion;
explain to a family that grandma is ready to go to heaven – when they want her to stay.
So God made a nurse.
He needed someone to feed and bathe helpless people
when no one else would,
on weekends and holidays,
while others were sleeping.
So God made a nurse.
He wanted someone who could and would run an IV pump,
stick needles into veins with compassion, draw and flush fluids like a precision machinist;
wrestle a patient out of their mind into bed, have a tolerant nose, – and a stomach made of steel;
to make the broken whole, – and give a soothing word for weary souls.
So God made a nurse.
He wanted to build someone that could find the time – when there is none – to wipe away tears, to give a tender touch and gently close the eyes of a dying man;
to be an angel; to witness the beautiful parts of humanity, in good times, – and bad;
to be the first and last to witness the beginning and the end of life,
the first breath, and the last breath…
to step into people’s lives and make a difference;
to improve health, and save lives.
So God made a nurse.
– a poem by Lee Bond (rendition of “God Made A Farmer” or “Farmer” by Paul Harvey)

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