Spiritual Wellness by BRYAN LESTER


“Trauma team to emergency, trauma team to emergen- cy.” This overhead page is sure to cause some people anxiety and get many hearts racing. As a registered nurse for 24 years, I have been prepared to stay calm in the face of trauma, illness, and death. These situations, which are life-altering for patients, become the everyday norm in healthcare. We learn how to survive and thrive during stress or we would not be able to continue to do our job. Here are some of my tips on how to stay afloat when everything around seems to be sinking.


I. PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING. If I keep my perspective too narrow by focusing on


myself, I can become burdened with despair, doubt, and fear. Suffering and loss can be physically and emotionally painful. I can be available to others in their time of need but not if I carry the pain that is not mine. I must be compassionate, kind, and even sacrificially giving toward others while realizing that their pain, loss, and trauma are their own. Taking this pain on myself makes me ineffective at being the needed ear, comforting shoulder, or helping hand. Being a good friend in this time of need builds deep friendships that will be there for you when your turn inevitably comes!


II. BE THANKFUL. I have seen so many ways to maim, injure, lop off,


crush, poke out, trip over, ingest, and just plain be taken out of this world and into the next. Life is fragile. Tomorrow is not mine…or yours! We are not guaranteed time or health. This is not sad or frightening to me. This keeps my perspective on thankfulness. We know focusing on what we can be thankful for is healthier than pining after things we don’t have, probably don’t need, and can’t take with us when we are gone from this world.


III. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF AND THOSE AROUND YOU. We all know about getting needed rest, eating and


exercising well, and drinking plenty of water! We often forget about laughing — often, heartily and at ourselves! Talk — that is with your voice, not a text — with family, friends, elders, mentors, teachers, and neighbours. Build relationships that can carry each other through the storm.


IV. GIVE GENEROUSLY. Time, money, things, but most of all love. Think of


investing these things in others to watch something grow. Realize that giving is always better for our own health than receiving. It puts others in perspective, helps us be thankful for our blessings, and takes care of those around us!


THINK OF YOUR LEGACY. Eternity is real and forever. This life is fleeting. Really challenge yourself to think


about what your life is being invested into that lasts. In my life, points one through four only help me because of my eternal perspective. My faith in God allows me to deal with despair, pain, and trauma knowing that His prom- ises are true. The Bible shows me what I can be thankful for that can never be taken away. Jesus’ examples, teach- ings of loving God and your neighbor, and forgiveness in my life, give me a purpose. This purpose goes beyond this body, this world, and all the trauma it can throw at me, and it helps me to take care of and invest in others — for eternity.


“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,


where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19-20).


Bryan Lester is a nurse who has worked in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Wilmington and Raleigh, North Caroli- na, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He worked in pediatric ICU and oncology wards, but spent most of his time in the emergency department. For the last 11 years Bryan has worked for Saskatchewan Air Ambulance service flying critically ill patients all over Saskatchewan, Canada, and occasionally to the USA. He is very happily married to another nurse, Marian, and they have three wonderful and active boys. He has been a member of Salem Church in Waldheim, Saskatchewan, for 17 years and is currently serving on the elder board.


FELLOWSHIP FOCUS, FEBRUARY/MARCH 2021 12


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