Throughout our lives, many of us search for meaning. Each of us goes about it differently, but that hunt for some greater purpose is something embedded in the fabric of humanity.
In the end, we want our lives to have meant something.
Nurses, in a lot of ways, are like silent watchmen. They are unsung heroes who are there for our best and worst moments.
Nursing is not a glamorous profession. If you do your job well, you’re not going to end up in the newspaper or on TV. Excellent nurses don’t often become famous, and they aren’t recognized by random strangers while walking down the street.
Nurses, in a lot of ways, are like silent watchmen. They are unsung heroes who are there for our best and worst moments. They cry tears of joy with you when you hold your first child, and they hold your hand on the day your mom dies unexpectedly. And in between, they are there a million different times in different magnitudes of pain and joy.
Your annual physical. The time you couldn’t for the life of you get that sliver out. The time you shot a staple gun into your own hand. The time you just had something … weird … going on.
When we ask nurses why—Why give so much of themselves, why the long hours, why the tired feet?—the answers are eerily similar.
Being a nurse means you have the power to change the worst day in someone’s life for the better. That “good” then goes out into the world and grows. Your actions touch someone else and suddenly, your life is meaningful in a bigger, more impactful way.
MCN nurses are changing the world, one patient at a time.
Has nursing touched your life?
Send your story to TheFlame@IllinoisState.edu.
Map of the unique locations MCN nurses live, work, and volunteer throughout the world.
This story was originally printed as part of MCN’s 2019 Commemorative Flame Magazine. To view the full magazine, visit the Mennonite College of Nursing website.
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