This is a rather personal account of how one future nurse found solace in her Christian faith during very traumatic times in her life. The major life events that her spirituality got her through were sexual abuse and the loss of a dear sister to cancer. This three page paper reviews how faith works and how it can help create better nurses.
Spirituality in Nursing
My Spiritual Journey
As I contemplate the type of nurse I hope to become, it is impossible to do so without giving thought to my own life and how my experiences and spiritual beliefs in the Christian faith have shaped me and my leanings towards my chosen profession. For me, spirituality is about many things -- hope and strength, trust, meaning and purpose, forgiveness, a higher power, the values of others and love and relationships. Spiritual care is a fundamental part of nursing and through the lens in which I see the world, I believe it is about meeting people at the point of deepest need. I believe that to treat a patient holistically I have to attend to their spiritual needs with the same attention, dedication and commitment I give their physical needs. This is a central part of the human experience and the fastest way to help them recover (Hart, 2008). I should know. My own life has not been an easy road. It is a testament to the power of faith.
Many of my trials and tribulations began in early childhood. I endured and survived child molestation at the hands of ____. Child molestation is the most atrocious of crimes -- victimization of the smallest and most vulnerable. I am grateful for making it through the ordeal. I realize that I was more fortunate than many who are sexually abused early in life, but I have no less been colored by the negative experience in ways that have impacted my development into adulthood. I didn't understand it at the time and even as an adult the memory still stings. I blamed myself for many years and was left with a great deal of guilt and shame. However, in time, I have come to understand that by having faith my scars and wounds can be fully healed. I found peace in my heart by trusting in Christ's love and Biblical promises, although I imagine it will always be a struggle to make sense of the event or why it had to happen to me.
Overcoming such tragedy in life can be made much easier by faith. When you trust in a higher power, your burdens are lightened. I came to understand that my role was not to seek revenge, retribution, or fall into despair. As a Christian, my duty was to forgive and stand in the faith that "earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal" (Isaiah 35:10). I have faith and belief that God will right all wrongs and that a spiritual justice will be leveled against the person who hurt me so profoundly. In the interim, I have been given "roses for ashes" (Isaiah 61:3). I am healthy, I am following my personal and professional dreams and I have people in my life who love me. My blessings are tenfold and my faith and spiritual education helps me recognize and appreciate them.
Learning to lean on my spiritual beliefs has been a gift, particularly whenever troubling and intrusive memories or other negative experiences appear in my life. As a future nurse practitioner, I know that if rain is falling in my life, I can be certain it is also falling in the lives of my patient's. I have found that one of the greatest needs of others is unconditional acceptance and love. Healing is a lifelong process and requires patience, but a strong spiritual foundation can improve self-esteem and provide comfort (Rogers, 2004). Personally, I believe in Christ's compassion, tenderness and protection. It gives me the strength to not only carry on, but also reach out and help others in their time of need.
This foundation helped me overcome my own pain enough to be emotionally and spiritually available when it was needed most in my life. My sister was diagnosed and struggled through terminal ____ cancer for ____ years. Never have I witnessed such bravery. I am proud that I could be there to love and help her more comfortably cope with her illness. I knew that despite our attempts to control the situation, ultimately God would decide how the story should end and that no matter what my sister would be okay, even if she were to leave us. I had not always been so positive. Yet, scripture teaches that no matter how dismal the prospects look, God will not leave us. Like myself, my sister came to lean on spiritual understanding as a mechanism to avoid feelings of helplessness or abandonment. And as we fought through her illness to the end, I began to realize the power of faith. I was amazed to witness first-hand how it can edify human resilience in the face of illness or hard times, just as it helped both my sister and I.
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