From Nurse to Ministry: Same Heart, New Direction

The last I spoke or connected with the majority of you I was a nurse working in the ER over at St. Lukes in Milwaukee. Well, I’m no longer there anymore. In fact, I got fired back in November just a few days before Thanksgiving. Just to clarify it was not related to malpractice or anything illegal - I struggled with staying on top of my education. I had a bad habit of getting my education done on time, and in the middle of trying to turn things around and being intentional about breaking my bad habit of procrastination, I missed a class, and that unfortunately was “the last straw.”

I was told on a Wednesday that a review was submitted to HR for my termination. I was in the middle of my shift when my supervisor told me the news, and luckily, we were over-staffed at that point in the day, so there was a nurse floating around asking if anyone needed a break - I obviously needed one. I had so many swirling thoughts in my head that I knew I just needed a moment with The Lord to bring peace to my mind. God definitely goes before us y’all because that particular morning, on my way out the door to go to work, I grabbed my Bible and said, “I might need this today.” (Now, bringing my Bible to work wasn’t an everyday thing - I only had done that a handful of times before, so that particular thought that morning was definitely from The Lord).

So, there I was, making my way out of the department, to go and spend just a few moments with Him and to be in His Word when I got stopped by one of our nurses who is on our Patient Experience Committee. “Erica! I’ve been meaning to give you these” she says, and she hands me two little starfish pins. The significance behind these pins is related to the story of the little boy on the shoreline trying to throw all the starfish back into the ocean to save them before the tide goes out. Within this story a man stops him and asks the little boy what he’s doing. The boy explains, and the man responds, “My son, this shoreline goes on for miles and there are so many starfish, there’s no way you will be able to make a difference!” The boy responded by smiling, bending down to grab another starfish, throwing it into the ocean and saying, “I made a difference to that one.” These pins, therefore, are handed out whenever you were recognized and made a difference in a patient’s life.

When these pins were placed into my hands y’all it was like getting a wink and a smile from God Himself. There’s no other way to explain it. It was as if, He looked at me at that moment and said, “Hey. You did the thing, girl" (like you were kind, you loved, you served, you honored, you went low, you took care of the sick, you encouraged the hopeless, you comforted those who needed comfort, and for those who were lost you told them about Me - that thing). It was a moment where I was reminded that my shoulders could go back and my head could be lifted up because no matter what happens I made a difference, and I did what I was called to do. Now, obviously there was still responsibility I had to take, so I would assume full responsibility for my actions and learn from my mistakes, but I would not hang my head in defeat.

With the starfish pins in hand, I finally made it to my car and there I sat, with tears streaming down my face, reading and declaring Psalm 91 over myself. In that moment I got to experience just how “alive and active” the Word of God really is. It spoke, it comforted, it stilled, it soothed, and it reminded me that I was covered and protected by God which gave me confidence.

After my shift, on that Wednesday night, I surrendered my job over to God. I was on my knees, in a posture of surrender and told The Lord that if it was needed for the Kingdom of Heaven that I remain in that place, serving people in Milwaukee in that ER, that a way would be made for me to stay, but if it wasn’t, and my time there was done, that would be okay too. I placed everything in His hands. It was a moment of surrender, a moment of saying “Come what may” and “Let Your will be done.” Afterwards I was filled with this peace that was not of this world. It was the peace that Paul talks about in Philippians - “the peace that surpasses all understanding.” You guys, I’m telling you, that kind of peace is found on the other side of surrender (that’s a word for someone).

After that moment I was good. I was at peace. I knew I was covered and protected. I knew The Lord had me. I knew I was going to be okay no matter what the outcome because, at the end of the day, my identity was never found in nursing, but rather, in Christ. That following Tuesday, my job was taken away. Everything around me was shaken, but I was not. There were obviously some tears, but those tears were never tears of fear or anxiety. I grieved and there were moments of sadness, but I was covered in peace.

Since then, I have been working as a Barista at Latitude Cafe in Germantown (y’all should stop in and say hi!), and I also surrendered my plans of becoming a firefighter/paramedic to The Lord as well (that’s a story for another time) to pursue ministry in the fall. It’s kind of funny actually, while I was still a nurse, I had this thought of how I wanted to go back to school for ministry at some point in time to get prepared for if/when God calls me out of healthcare and into ministry. I guess getting fired had a way of accelerating that thought.

So yeah! In the fall I will be moving down to Nashville, TN and I’ll be pursuing a Master of Divinity at The Belonging Co. College. I’ll be on the Pastoral track being trained and equipped by the church leaders/staff at The Belonging Co while earning my degree through Southeastern University. I have no idea where I’m going to end up or what The Lord has in store for me, but I’m excited! I’m excited to go and tell the world about Jesus! I was saving lives before, but now it’s time to go and save some souls! I’m eager to take care of people again and to be used for great and mighty things for His Kingdom. I have absolutely no clue what that all looks like, but I know that it’s going to be exceedingly and abundantly more than I could ever possibly imagine.

Back in January when I took a step out in faith and applied to The Belonging Co. College (when I gave The Lord my “yes”), I knew that there was a whole lot of stuff that needed to align and fall into place before school starts in August, and one of those things is financial provision. Hence this GoFundMe. All money raised will go towards the cost of tuition, and any overflow/any excess will be donated to Greater (my church's missions outreach). Please don’t feel obligated to give, but if you feel called to help support me financially, any dollar amount will be a blessing and will be received with so much joy and gratitude.

Well, I guess that’s all from me and it’s now time to hand this thing over to God and allow Him to make a way. Take care and God bless. I love you all very much.