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!