I love being a nurse!

Sisters Hinves, Rarotoga, and Wong

It is rewarding to me to serve as the “ask a nurse” for the mission.  I feel that part of my responsibility to the missionaries is not only to give them advice on how to heal and what to do when they are sick, but to educate as well.  I like to do research and so when I have a question, I can Google to my heart’s content.  (Did I tell you that my grandchildren call me “Grandma Google”?)  I research cause and treatment, exercises, nutrition, etc.  I send out what I hope is helpful information such as exercises for back pain and how to wrap an ankle after a sprain.

As often as I can, I arrange time with missionaries to get to know them better.  You all know that lunch or dinner is my favorite way to get better acquainted.  I was blessed to be with some sisters on Thursday for dinner at a Chinese restaurant.

Unfortunately, one of our missionaries has had occasion to be in the hospital since Thursday evening.  I have been there every day during the day time hours so that I can talk to the doctors and monitor treatment.  I feel sorry for the sick missionary and I would rather not have had them experience this but it has given me the opportunity to revisit my hospital nursing days and I have enjoyed that aspect of it. 

The hospital is a very large complex.  This is my view from the fourth floor window.

There are some little “café” style eating places in the hospital.  The food is pretty good in fact.

My breakfast one morning was delicious smoked salmon and cream cheese on a bagel with beetroot relish.

Sitting bedside has given me opportunity to think and read.  Along with the inspiration I receive from general conference talks, I like BYU Devotional Speeches.  One I read gave me pause to stop and really look at myself:  “The Lord Doesn’t Grade on a Curve” by Sister Janet Lee given in January 1995. 

All through my life, I have based my self-worth on how I felt I compared to others.  In school, I looked at the most popular girls, who they dated, how many friends they had, how they dressed, etc and I most often felt that I was lacking.

As I raised my children, I would look at other families, wives and mothers and think that I really wasn’t quite good enough.  I didn’t take my children to sporting activities or music lessons.  If they did play sports, I didn’t always attend their games.  My home and yard weren’t immaculate and well groomed.  My children were wonderful and I did feel honored and blessed to be their mother, but I felt I didn’t always do things in the way I should have done them. 

Even now, I occasionally catch myself falling into those old thought patterns observing others:  My clothes, my hair, my wrinkles, …….

As I’ve aged, however, I have come to realize that it doesn’t really matter how I compare to others but how I feel about myself.  In her speech, Sister Lee discusses this and gives some helpful insight.  You may read the speech here.

She begins with a story: 

Eighteen days ago our daughter-in-law Sharon gave birth to twin boys, James and John. As you can imagine, there was much rejoicing the morning they were born. Excited and loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends all lined up in front of the hospital nursery window, marveling at the beautiful little faces and perfect little bodies.

“Are they identical?” we all asked. The preliminary tests were inconclusive, which of course only made us more curious. We stared at them, placed side by side, and compared them from their ears down to their toes. Was one lighter, darker, fatter, thinner, smaller, or bigger than his brother? This led to other questions in our minds: Would one be more athletically or musically inclined? Would one have an easier time in school? Would one have more friends?

Watching from outside the nursery window, we could see the new father, our son Michael, busily going from one baby to the other, speaking softly and gently touching them. When we were finally able to talk with him in the hallway, he was full of excitement and pride about how each one was doing, noting their individual characteristics. In our curiosity we had been drawing comparisons, but Michael, as the loving father, had focused on each boy separately.

As I left the hospital, I continued to think about these new little members of our family and whether it would be hard to be compared constantly with someone else. I hoped that our family would be able to value each child individually. 

Then I began to think about life and how we often tend to compare ourselves to others. We compete with brothers, sisters, roommates, friends, or people with whom we work and go to school. Sometimes we even seem to be in competition with our husbands or wives. A few days later, still reflecting on this thought, I remarked to a friend, “Life is like being in school. We are continually grading ourselves on some imagined scorecard, trying to see who gets the A. 

“You must remember,” my wise friend answered, “the Lord does not grade on a curve.” 

This remarkable phrase caught my attention. Whatever we are doing, wherever we see ourselves on the scale of life, we need to put aside the world’s preconceived notions of what we should be and remember, “The Lord doesn’t grade on a curve.” 

We all want to do our best as we go through life. Sometimes, however, the most visible measuring stick we use to examine how we are doing is the one devised by the world. We naturally recognize people who are “at the top.” We applaud them, we see their names on honor rolls, we read about them in newspapers and magazines, and we try to emulate them. There is nothing wrong with that except when we try to determine our intrinsic worth or the value of those around us by our comparative grades, social status, acclaim, appearance, salaries, degrees, or possessions. 

It is an inevitable fact of life that we compare ourselves to others. Yet it can be a very dangerous practice. If we give ourselves a superior rating, we fall into the trap of pride. President Ezra Taft Benson has warned us that “the proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success” (“Beware of Pride,” Ensign, May 1989, p. 6). 

If we see ourselves at the top of the ladder, we diminish the significance of others, sometimes overlooking important qualities that our grading scale ignores. We may not even be aware that we are doing this. 

An equally dangerous practice is giving ourselves an inferior rating. In this instance we often compare our weakest points with everybody else’s strongest ones. If we believe we are at the bottom of the ladder of success, we feel defeated. 

Why do we do that to ourselves? When someone else does something well or owns something we do not have, why do we immediately knock ourselves down a rung or two? Appreciating the abilities and resources of others should lift us, not diminish us in any way. Every time we see or hear something of merit, we should be better because of it. The Lord must have intended it to be that way, because each of us has been given different gifts, unique abilities, and varying insights. 

Being able to appreciate and encourage the gifts of others may well be the greatest gift of all. 

Never will our eternal value be measured in comparison with another’s performance. The Lord doesn’t think in terms of quotas—only qualities. He does not accept just the top ten percent. He wants all of us. He sees our worth from where we are today and what we can become tomorrow. Each of us stands on equal footing as we work to develop Christlike qualities such as love, humility, patience, and charity. He will attend to our individual needs and assess our progress because it is “his work and his glory” to help us succeed. 

When our measuring stick is Christ’s life and teachings, we need no other comparison.  

Each of us is loved and valued beyond any earthly means of measuring. Because the Lord knows our hearts and sees our individual worth, he does not grade us on a curve. 

I appreciate the words of Sister Lee.  I know that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.  I know that my Savior Jesus Christ lives and died for me and that through his sacrifice, Atonement, and resurrection I may enjoy life eternal with my family.  I know that by reading and studying the Book of Mormon, I will find direction and will know the path that will lead me to that eternal life.

I love my Savior.  I love you my family and friends.

 

I needed cookies to take to a lady to whom I minister.  I had leftovers so I took some to a couple of elders.
They called to thank me and asked if I would send them the recipe.  I told them that it was an old family recipe
and I don’t usually share but if they would promise not to tell about the recipe, I would send them a picture of it.  LOL

Flowering shrub in the parking lot of Countdown Grocery Store.  It is called Grevillea “Honey Gem”

This is a “new” vegetable that I tried.  It is really good.
It takes like mild cauliflower but looks like white broccoli.