One year later

It's amazing what a difference a year can make. It's amazing how fast a year can fly by, how many memories can be packed into a year, and how much one can learn in the course of a year.

This time last year I was living in Oklahoma, it was freezing cold, ice and snow on the ground and trees; now here I sit on sunny Phoenix wearing short sleeves and enjoying the mild weather. This time last year I had not yet embarked upon the endless frontiers of learning and experiences as an RN; now I have spent a year working in the ER, with many new experiences under my proverbial belt.

In one year I have seen my first baby die, but I know it won't be the last. I have seen more crazy people in a single 365 day period that I had ever seen in my entire 20 years up to this point. I have learned what it means to go through an entire 12 hour shift with no time to eat, sit, or even pee. I have learned what it means to fight with death and prevail, but also know the feeling of losing that battle. I have struggled with the unfairness of life, but also rejoiced with happy endings. This year I have landed a plane by myself for the first time, learned to scuba dive, and bought my first set of furniture.

This year has been a year of change. I know that this time next year I will be somewhere else, learning new things, and with another list of "firsts." That is the process of life. You live, always learn, and hopefully grow.

Each person is given an identical amount of time. 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 365 days in a year. How will you use it?

This time next year I have no idea where I will be. I don't know what I will have learned, what new experiences I will have to tell about, or if I will even be around to tell about them. We are not promised tomorrow, next week, next year. I have today, this moment, this hour. How am I going to spend it?

That is the choice I have. God has a plan for me this year, He has a plan for you this year as well. The plan He has for me is different than the one He has for you. My plan is tailor made to fit my personality, my experience, my talents, and the areas I need to grow; yours is made to fit you. The plans, and experiences He has are the best possible plans for my life and yours. But...there is always a but. I have a choice, as do you. Am I going to follow the path He has set before me? Or will I choose my own path, my own way.

This time next year, the answer to that question will be evident. I pray that I will "press toward the mark, of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ." As this next chapter is written may you and I not be the ones holding the pens in our hands, writing the story, but may the pens scripting out the stories of our lives be in the hands that have nail scars.