Florence Nightingale once said, “To be a fellow worker with God is the highest aspiration of which we can conceive man capable.”
No matter what position we hold at Vincentian system, we are all fellow workers with God. God calls each of us to a specific work, to give of ourselves in the service of others and our community.
Florence Nightingale was a British nurse, social reformer and military statistician best known as the founder of modern nursing. Her efforts to formalize nursing education led her to establish the Nightingale School of Nursing at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London in 1860.
International Nurses Day is observed annually on May 12 to commemorate her birth and celebrate the important role of nurses in health care.
She felt called away from her life of elite privilege to serve as a nurse. Against the desires of her parents that she marry well and raise a family, Nightingale spent her life caring for the sick in cities and on battlefields. She worked to elevate the nursing profession, bringing rigor, discipline, and respectability to the role. She viewed her calling as a partnership with God, who holds all things together.
At a time when our health care professionals, direct care givers, and support staff have given more of themselves than ever before, we must step back and consider our efforts as a part of God’s plan. Each time we offer our best, serve with compassion, seek justice, and love without fear, we give ourselves to the mighty work of Divine Providence. As we hold and support others, we also let ourselves be held and supported in the love and greatness of God.
Loving God, Good Shepherd, we thank you for all the health care professionals, direct care givers, and support staff in all the different departments within our facilities, along with VCS staff who meet the needs of our residents. Sustain all of us, keeping your people healthy in mind and body. Give us the strength to serve with compassion and the humility to be led and comforted by you. Give us the grace to be present to others and the vulnerability to share our own needs. We pray that you will take our offerings at this time and use them for your glory and goodness. Amen.