Reach out and Touch

I found this hymn on facebook, in a post I had written in March of 2009, two months before I graduated highschool.
This song never fails to remind me of some of the reasons I want to be a nurse. Even though this applies to all kinds of nursing, I can specifically apply it to the field I want to work in after nursing school. Since I was 8 years old I have wanted to work in geriatrics. Yes, some people say 'you're crazy," some say sarcastically "oh, it takes a  very special kind of person to want to do that job." Sure, maybe I am different, and probably a little crazy, but it's the field God has given me the passion for. This amazing hymn relates to this past semester working one-on-one with patients and nurses during clinicals.

Reach Out and Touch - Charles F. Brown

Reach out and touch a soul that is hungry,
Reach out and touch a spirit in despair,
Reach out and touch a life torn and dirty
A man who is lonely - If you care!
Reach out and touch that neighbor who hates you:
Reach out and touch that stranger who meets you;
Reach out and touch the brother who needs you;
Reach out and let the smile of God touch thro' you.
Reach out and touch a friend who is weary.
Reach out and touch a seeker unaware,
Reach out and touch tho' touching means losing,
A part of yourself - If you dare!
Reach out and give your love to the loveless,
Reach out and make a home for the homeless;
Reach out and shed God's light in the darkness,
Reach out and let the smile of God touch thro' you.


In devotions the other morning it talked about being a real friend and reaching out to other people, whether they are friends or strangers. It would mean stepping out of my comfort zones and humbling myself, letting God put the words that He wants me to say into my mouth. In nursing I have had to step outside of my walls of comfort, and put myself and my faith out there in the open. But I've been blessed by it and able to pray with some of my patients when they've gotten bad news from the doctor, or had a bad day of chemo treatment, or just pray for them to heal in general.
You may never know who you are reaching, just by being yourself. So love not only with words, but with actions of love as well.

1 John 3:18
Let us not love with words... but with actions and in truth.