This year, my new year’s resolution is quite unorthodox. Actually, I have never committed to any new year’s resolution in the past. No, I’m not perfect. I am human, too. It’s just that I just never gave it a second thought. I can appreciate the idea of recommitment, resolution, restoration, whatever have you. In my daily walk with Christ, I recommit myself to God every morning. Though I may be discouraged the previous day, I see every morning as a grand new day, wide open for me to fulfill His agenda and purpose for me. Whether I walk into work putting on the hat of a Patient Care Technician, a Charge Nurse, an Assistant Nurse Manager, a Clinical Nurse Manager, or a Director of Perioperative Services, or sometimes, all of the above, I go in with a heart willing to accept the day for what it is as I know that my daily goal is to the serve the Lord and others.
This new year, my resolution is one word: contentment. A good godly brother of mine, also a colleague at work, Mike, asked me if I’d ever heard of the one-word new year’s resolution. No, was my answer. Thanks to him, I prayed long and hard over this idea immediately after the new year commenced, not really for a specific resolution, but God put it on my heart to seek contentment in whatever I do in whatever role I play at home and at work. This was perfect for me, I thought. It comforted me to know that God has my best interest at heart, always. He has seen how restless I have become especially as it comes to my profession. I am passionate about work. My husband would say, “Honey, you’re the most passionate nurse and leader I have ever known.” Not that he knows a lot of nurses. Now, he does know the greatest leader, and that is our Lord, Jesus Christ who is the most passionate and compassionate. No comparison. Currently, I am an Interim Director of Perioperative Services overseeing operations and supporting nearly 400 healthcare professionals across the Central Valley at the Stockton, Manteca, and Modesto Hospitals. This position is quite temporary. There are days, like with any job, when I felt like giving up. All the issues, concerns, messes seemed to be piled on top of one another like Mt. Everest. There’s no way I can do this, I’d tell myself. But, that still small voice says, “Seda, be content with the output you have given today for tomorrow is another day.”
The thought of contentment stems from my childhood experiences and into my most recent visit to Cambodia in 2017. Ever since I was a child, my parents always taught us to give from a cheerful heart, to take care of the needy, and to help lift the underserved, not only in our very community, but, also throughout the world. I do not come from a family of wealth, quite the opposite, actually. I came from a low-income family nearing poverty. Even with having little, my parents still found the means and ways to take care of the poor and the needy through monetary gifts, clothing, food, and at times shelter—the basic human needs. Till this day, they have helped many Cambodian families in Cambodia build shelters that would not be swept away by strong gusts of winds or get damaged by the flood that Cambodia sometimes faces. Fast forward to 2017, we encountered many poor people while we visited. Some barely had 3 sets of outfits to change from, let alone a bowl of rice to sustain through the day. What was so complexing was that these beautiful people had big, genuine smiles that radiated the word: contentment. Therefore, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:11-13, NIV)”. This verse was written and well-stated by the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Christian church in Philippi. I’d like to expound on this further by sharing that contentment does not always refer to monetary value and things. More than anything, its inference is the current circumstances we’re in. To conclude, I am to be content in my interim role and commit to doing my best every day in higher position or lower position, all to the glory of God. I pray that God continues to use me for His good work on a daily basis, at home, at work, and in the world.
Greetings 2023!!!
