Editorial, March

Edwin Markham:
He drew a circle that shut me out --
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in.

My expectation was that I was leaving the hectic emergency room for the calm of home health nursing. It seems I just got there and things started deteriorating. It wasn't me, it was corporate decisions along with a job change for one nurse and the sudden unexpected resignation of another for reasons all her own, but suddenly my 40 hour a week job has blossomed into something far more, with an unsure expectation how the compensation will reflect the extra effort and hours that seem required of me. I hear a rumble of discontent as the load falls on the remaining faithful, and I see folks around me growing weary and wearier, and I feel myself growing. I hear some grumbling, too, since "Corporate" isn't changing their expectations just because we're all working like crazy keeping the patients care needs met, and what has always been a difficult computer system seems almost intolerable in the stress of having to be as efficient as possible - and "Corporate" hasn't seen the light on that one yet.
Circles, and how we draw them, can make all the difference. It's like the foxhole theory, and it seems I come back to it again and again. It's enough to have an enemy outside willing to kill, steal, and destroy. We don't need any enemies inside the foxhole with us! Those bullets and missiles shot at close range seem to hit the target even harder than those we expect from the outside. Thankfully, we're a good team of folks and not many missiles are being launched from the inside. In fact, I find many of us are going the extra to make sure we mention how appreciative we are of the other. It makes a difference.
I love the diverse personalities with whom I have a working relationship, and at the house, I love the diverse personalities of all of us who share the 680 square feet we call home. I want my circles to be drawn broadly, giving each one of these unique individuals an opportunity to blossom into the image of God and His Christ He's created them to be. That, and the blessings He gives His beloved in sleep, His mercies which are new each morning, and the strength He gives those who wait on Him to mount up with wings as eagles, will be enough!