If you’ve ever worked with me in the hospital setting then you know I love to sing. In fact, patients often refer to me as the “singing nurse.” It makes me feel happy, calms my nerves, and keeps me motivated in my work. Recently I was singing at a new assignment and the charge nurse asked if I had ever [sung] professionally. Alas, I had not. I get asked this question a lot, though. I don’t consider myself a Celine Dion or Mariah Carey, but I guess my voice is decent enough that strangers think I should get paid for it. Who knew?!
So, recently as I was having this discussion again I explained why I had never taken the leap into musical performance beyond the shower and hospital bedside. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to pursue it as a career. Actually, as a young woman, I had wanted to sing and act, but I had never stepped out in that direction. Fear and my father’s suggestion to pursue a “high demand and high paying” vocation like my mom (an RN) had pushed Hollywood from my mind. I didn’t figure I could succeed anyway, so I didn’t go for it.
Sometimes I question what my life would be if I had. With such a love for music and drama in my blood, I knew God placed those feelings there, and I sometimes wondered if that was what God had for me in the first place. Had worldly fear distracted me from some calling He placed in my heart? Had I missed the mark of where He wanted to use me? Was I doing what He wanted me to do as a job?
I didn’t know, but I did know this…
God didn’t care what I did!
He did, though, care how I did it.
Many times in life you can miss the mark because of fear or worldly distraction, but we must always remember that an all-knowing, omnipresent God who knows beginning to end holds our life in His hand. Despite missteps or mistakes, He’s always known and redirects our paths for His purposes. We can’t put too much weight on ourselves, but understand He always works it out for His purposes and to our best interest.
In the end, it doesn’t matter what I do as a job, but rather how I do the job I have. No matter my work or vocation my biggest role in this life is to be a light of God’s love and spread His heart wherever I go. Whether on a stage or at the hospital bedside, it’s my attitude at work and of service that matters to my Father. I have no regrets for the direction my life has taken, and I am grateful for each moment.
Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV) “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”
So, I sing at work. I sing because it makes me happy, and it seems to make those I encounter happy as well. Perhaps that’s all God wanted in the first place. Whether on stage or off, to sing with a joyful heart.
