Blessing of the Hands

This morning when I was about to get off my shift at work, the charge nurse reminded us that today was Nurses Appreciation Day at the hospital, and that there was a "Tea & Blessing of the Hands" in the cafeteria. She encouraged us all to go, and honestly, after a rough night, by 0630, I was more interested in the tea and muffins than anything else.

Much to my surprise, they had a lovely spread out for us, the least of which were the warm blueberry scones, (yummy)! Off to the side, there was a nurse who had a table set up with a basin for washing our hands, and then she anointed our hands with healing oil that has been used since biblical times. After she rubbed the oil on my hands she prayed for me. By the end of the prayer, I was in tears. Talk about being moved by the Holy Spirit. Her prayer for compassion, renewed strength, the power of touch and healing was overwhelming.

So often, we come to work, punch the clock, do what we need to do, and as nurses, sometimes forget why we got into the field to begin with........to truly touch peoples lives and hearts. Of course, through my tears I felt guilt that I was just came for the "tea and crumpetts", little did I know that God had finer things in store for me! It was a wonderful beginning to my day, and something that I will look forward to in the years to come.