Alisa's Sigh

(Dedicated to my dear friend and colleague, Alisa, whose sweet spirit displays the Lord's love and kindness.)

In the Labor & Delivery unit where I work, I am the oldest nurse.  On night shift the younger nurses generally view me as another "mother."  They often come to me for advice and problems, involving their patients, their computers and sometimes their lives in general.

When we come on the unit to work each night each nurse has an assignment.  She may be taking care of a laboring patient, she may have a few postpartum patients or she may be assigned to be the scrub nurse.  The scrub nurse is responsible for performing all the quality assurance controls in the unit and also scrubs in any Cesarean Section performed.

One night I had a few observation patients and Alisa was the scrub nurse.  Terri, our third nurse, came out of her room to tell us the physician had decided to do a C-Section on her patient.  Standing by Alisa I saw her shoulders very slightly droop. I doubt anyone else even noticed it.  I stepped up to our computerized pharmacy machine to remove the preoperative drugs Terri would need and I heard a soft, barely audible, sigh.

 It was Alisa's sigh.  You see, Alisa is ten weeks pregnant.  She has days when she feels really good and days, like this day, when she feels, well, not so good.

I looked at her and asked, "Do you want me to scrub it for you?"

I could tell she really wanted to say "Yes" but she also didn't want to feel as though she was putting me out in any way.

"I don't mind at all," I tried to make her choice a little easier.

"If you do, I'll love you forever!"  she enthusiastically stated, "And I'll bake something for you!"
You see, Alisa makes some of the most delicious cupcakes I have ever eaten.

"You don't have to bake me anything, just love me forever," I joked with her.

Our relationship with the Lord is much like that.

The Scriptures tell us, "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking I will hear." (Isaiah 65:24.)  

The Lord is paying attention to us every second of every day.  "The eyes of of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open unto their cry." (Psalm 34:15.)  He is aware of our every need and He desires to meet those needs. He sees when our shoulders slump and He hears our soft sighs.  He provides for us before we ask, but, we must be paying attention to know He has provided.  Our eyes and ears must be watching Him.  As the writer of Hebrews implores us, we must "consider Him."

Our relationship with the Lord should be one of mutual communication and response.  As we look "unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith," and we will always find His gaze already upon us.

"They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing."

Psalm 34:10

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