There is a time for everything...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8


1 There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.


 I have officially started work at Ochsner Hospital as a chaplains assistant!  I spent Thursday and Friday working.  I work from 8 to 5 Monday through Thursday and 8 to 11:30 on Fridays because from noon to four is our YAV house time! I never thought I would enjoy working from 8 to 5 but I can honestly say" I LOVE I!"  I am assigned to the Peds and Mother Baby units. I will also be doing the initial visit with patients when they are admitted to the hospital to let them know that there is  Pastoral Care  available to them. Ochsner is a magnificent hospital. I have never seen anything like it... It has escalators, two cafeterias,an amazing gift shop, a full time blood donation center, doctors offices,  hotel , cafe,  gym / pool (both of which I get to use for FREE) and a piano that plays by it's self!
 
 Both of my bosses are amazing! Jenny is a Presbyterian  and Mike is a Baptist and will be serving as my mentor while I am there. There are other full time chaplains that work at the hospital, but i can not remember their names. Thursday I received a hospital tour and a breakdown of what my responsibilities are going to befor my year . Friday , after I parked in the EMPLOYEE parking lot, I got the opportunity to go on the floor and meet some of the new patients and tell them about the Pastoral Care Department while Mike and Jenny did interviews for CPE candidates. Yes that is right. I was sent first thing to the floor cold turkey! I was excited and anxious. I only visited five patients before I became overwhelmed and headed back to the office(which I have a key for!) Mike said that my feelings were appropriate since I had never done anything like it before.
 
Mike and I went to the ICU and visited some patients and family there. I had the opportunity to watch how he approached different situations. I saw how he noticed when someone needed to have someone to confide in. I only hope that one day I will have skills like Mike. After visiting three or four patients Mike and I went into the conference room and had a discussion about how I was feeling and what I noticed about his job. From our conversation I came to the conclusion, with Mike's help,that God can be both close by you and far away at the same time. It was a deep conversation .
 
It was partially because of that conversation  as well as many others that I have had  and many more that are still to come that I have decided to apply to be a Seminary student begging in the Fall of '11 . I am currently looking into Louisville Theological Seminary in Kentucky  where I hope to get my MDIV (Masters in Divinity). I Talked with the representative who was at the YAV orientation. I felt like LPTS is where God wants me to go.
 
 That is why I started this BLOG post off with Ecclesiastes. Now is my season! It is my time to  figure out what I want to do with my life.   I am no longer listening to the voices that told me I was not good enough. I will now listen to God's voice which is telling me this is where I need to be and this is what I need to be doing.
 
 
Still working on my Thank you  letters. Hope to have them ready to mail by Friday!
 
 
 
Till I Blog again
 
God Bless