The Purpose in Repetition
by Jessica Sunday
I do not know about you, but repeating things is not something I am inclined to doing. Unless, of course, it is repeating an unforgettable trip. There are usually three main reasons as to why we do not like to repeat things. Repeating things often requires more time, money, and energy. Being a college student, I get depleted of those things quickly. Nonetheless, I found myself searching for the purpose of repetition. Repetition may not be what we had planned in our journey, but it is often necessary. Here's my story.
In the fall of 2016 I started off on a journey that would require much dedication, energy, patience, and every ounce of motivation to keep me going. This journey would require God's strength, many prayers, coffee, and sanity. Yes, this was the beginning of nursing school as we know it. Finals came quickly, and I passed my first semester. It was an exhilarating feeling! Then, Christmas break passed, and it was the beginning of the second semester. This semester was fast paced, exhausting, and was literally the monster I imagined as a little girl I hide from under my bed. There are no nice words to insert here other than that I failed this semester by two points.
I got over this disappointment in time, and I found myself rerouting the journey I had already mapped out. However, instead of my GPS saying, "You have reached your destination," it read, "Detour ahead." Now what? What was I supposed to tell all the people cheering me on in support of my dreams? Was I a disappointment now? Time passed, and I began to encounter people at church as well as other places in my life. People I did not even know knew that I was in nursing school came up to me saying, "Aren't you the girl in nursing school"? "I'm praying for you." "When do you graduate"? All I wanted to do in that moment was hide under a rock. The only words I could utter were the basic answers to those questions. Yes, I am in nursing school. Thank you so much for your prayers, and I was supposed to graduate next year but instead I have to repeat my second semester of nursing school.
So, how can someone who has invested so much of her time, energy, and money find purpose in repetition? Yeah, you guessed it! I am repeating my second semester of nursing school this semester! It is not an easy adjustment for me at all. I am repeating all of the long clinical days, the lack of sleep, the lectures, the labs, the rising stress levels, the coffee IV's (my nurse brothers and sisters will know what I mean), and the projects. This would have been the year I graduated, but God saw fit to send me on a detour. And you know what? That is just fine. Why? because His ways are higher than my ways. He holds my future, and He is so graciously teaching me things through this process. There are things that have already happened this semester that I would have not otherwise gotten to experience had I not repeated. I had the privilege of going to Children's Hospital something we did not do last year. I have a new clinical group I would have never met had I not repeated. This group is my new family that I pray I can be a blessing to as we serve others on our clinical. I will encounter new patients that may need my loving touch that I would have not otherwise met. You see, the detours life takes you on is not always fun. There are some bumps, curves, and even some potholes on the road, but in those times of construction, are the times where you will be stretched. When I got my focus off of myself in the why I have to repeat, that is when I found the why I get to repeat. I get to repeat to gain more knowledge, understanding, and grasp of the material; however, I also get to repeat to reach more people I would have not otherwise been able to reach.
Have you been struggling with finding your purpose in repetition? Life is full of turns and sometimes it leaves us fearful and unsure. Remember, we are not called to fear. We are called to trust in God's plan for our lives, and if that means Him leading us on a detour, that is perfectly fine. Find the purpose in repetition because maybe someone needs you or maybe someone needs to see the light within you. I would like to come alongside you if you are feeling discouraged, weak, depressed, sad, broken, or hurt. I would like to pray for you and get to know you. Let me encourage you to send me an email or a message so I can do that for you. May this be a blessing to someone today.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:8
