Shauna the Nurse

 

Two years ago, she was teaching art. 

Little did we know that there was a restlessness inside her that wanted a change. 

 

Career wise, teaching is a dead-end job. 

Unless you want to be in administration, there is no ladder to climb. 

The work can be rewarding but 

The obstacles to making a difference can be large. 

The job is steady but the pay is terrible. 

It’s hard to make ends meet, 

Much less to have extra to indulge in life. 

And it’s the same thing year after year, 

Different faces, 

Same behaviors,

(Though they’re getting worse)

And same learning concepts,

Though delivery is different over the years. 

 

So she wanted a change. 

And she has a heart for serving others,

And she’s worked as an EMT for years, 

And so she chose to pursue a degree in nursing. 

From Duke! 

And she excelled. 

 

The day she told us that she was leaving was hard. 

The team was what she didn’t want to leave. 

But the team understood. 

How could we not? 

When you love someone, 

You want to see them grow and succeed and be happy. 

And that’s exactly what she’s done. 

 

Shauna the Art Teacher 

is now 

Shauna the Nurse, 

And I couldn’t be more proud. 

 

Sometimes loving someone means letting them go. 

Sometimes loving someone means fighting for them to stay. 

May we be a people who know what to do when. 

And may we each,

Like Shauna the Nurse, 

Go after what makes sense for our lives, 

Now and in the days to come. 

 

Amen.