"SEASONS" by my daughter, Kara

I woke up with this on my mind, along with the corresponding song by The Byrds…which is now stuck in my head.

“There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
 a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
 a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
 a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
 a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.”

                        --Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

On more than one occasion, I have wondered why I went through applying to nursing school, starting, dropping, reapplying, completing the first year, starting second year, then having to drop again. I have come to the conclusion that I have no idea why. For whatever reason, there was a season in my life for nursing school, but now that season is over. Maybe not forever, but for now.

Anyone who knows me knows that the ending of that season broke my heart. I loved what I was learning, I loved taking care of people, and (most of the time) I loved the challenge of learning new concepts and skills. One day, in the middle of a pity party, I remembered something. The whole reason I wanted to become a nurse was because I wanted to help people.
 

I got to do that!
 

In clinicals and in my job, I had the privilege of helping many people. I got to be involved in treatments and procedures that would help them. I was there to listen when they were upset or scared and just needed to talk. I held their hand while they cried. I did everything I could to help them feel cared for, and not like they were just another body in a bed.

Not finishing nursing school wasn’t a failure or the death of a dream. It was the completion of a season. As much as I love spring, it’s a season. It will pass, and the next season will begin. But every season has something to enjoy: beautiful flowers, abundant sunshine, gorgeous foliage, or sparkling snowflakes. They’re all wonderful, but they are all different. They all have a time to begin and a time to end.

There was a time for nursing school, and that time has ended. Oddly enough, I’m okay with that now. Yes, I feel sad sometimes. But to quote my favorite author, C.S. Lewis:

“There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

(c) Copyright 2012 by Kara Stephens. All rights reserved.