While biking down the mountain trail, I passed a man leaning against the underpass of a bridge. His heart hung low and once I'd passed, I knew I had to go back and inquire. I doubted there was a need for my concern, but what if he did need help?
"Hi, are you okay?"
He didn't hear because of earphones. I repeated my question. He looked up and smiled, "Yes, I'm okay, I just needed to rest.
Less than a second later I pedaled off with a new idea, I want to be a nurse!
Realistic doubts crept into my mind immediately. Do nursing schools even consider 61 year old women? I'd have to go to a private school and it would cost a fortune I could never recoup except in the joy of helping others.
I thought of telling my daughter who is a physicians assistant and then I started to laugh. Heartily. Genuinely. All of the giggles on a bike ride down a mountain, wind rushing in my face, laughing at my own folly. Me, a nurse.
Anyone who knows me, knows I am the furthest from nurse material as a person can be.
So why did I want to become a nurse if for only a few delusional minutes.
Because I felt the pure love of Christ or charity. When I thought a person was in need, and I knew the most important tools I could have had, if he'd needed help, were the life saving skills of a nurse.
That pure charity allowed me to believe (if for only a minute), I could become something I knew I wasn't.
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