Rays Of Grace

While putting away a few Christmas gifts this year, I found a note my grandma wrote. My grandma’s words warmed my heart, but what I found on the back of the note caught my attention. Grandma likes to recycle her daily quote calendar pages. This one read, Comparison is the thief of joy. –Theodore Roosevelt. A simple, yet profound quote. Recently, I told my mom that if a spot opens at her medical sales company that I would like to apply. If you know me, you probably know that I am a much better nurse than I would be a …

Helllllllo friends…I’m back! I took a few years off from “Rays of Grace” to heal and grieve after my parents’ divorce. During my hiatus, I stayed pretty busy. I met, started dating, and got engaged to the best person I know. Most recently, we became dog parents. I also graduated from accelerated nursing school and got a job at a pediatric hospital on the hematology/oncology floor, where I have worked as a nurse for a year. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology floors take patients who have blood disorders and childhood cancers. My patient population often consists of patients with type one diabetes, sickle …

As a little girl, I dreaded teachers, coaches, or camp counselors asking my peers and me to share “Fun Facts” as an icebreaker. My peers would share about vacations to Disney World, swimming with dolphins, or attending professional sporting events—all very “fun” facts. When it was my turn to share, I would freeze, then give my default answer: I have four brothers…no sisters. Numerous blank stares were often the response. Turns out the other third graders thought Disney world was more “fun.” Nevertheless, I continued sharing this fact—fun or not. Now, at 22 (somehow still finding myself in situations where …

Yesterday, I woke up to my roommates blaring music. Creighton was playing Xavier, and my roommates were preparing to participate in festivities starting at 8:00 a.m. After a chaotic week of school and a full day of clinical rotations ahead of me, I had been looking forward to sleeping in. I also happened to wake up to a lovely stye in my eye (totally unrelated, but it adds to the annoyance of the day). Grumpy Grace rarely makes an appearance, but when she does, watch out. The sass is real. My roommates were excited about the basketball game. They had …

Do you ever feel like God, or the universe, or whatever else is desperately trying to tell you something? You know, when the same topic gets brought up time and time again with family and friends. Then it comes up again at the grocery store with the checkout clerk, and then while in the dental chair. All right, maybe I am getting a little too specific. Suffice it to say, the theme of mindset has been on my heart lately. Each of us face trials in our everyday lives. It can be as small as getting your car booted in …

Last week, I walked into my housemate Michelle’s room to, honestly, just complain about being exhausted. I felt like I was hit by a truck, but I had not done anything too extraneous. Starting at a new gym or picking up extra shifts at work could be the cause? But, then my sweet friend kindly reminded me that I am going through a lot of change – with school, family and just life in general – it’s exhausting. Change comes with a variety of emotions – it is hard and ugly, but also beautiful and encourages growth. I often push …

Well, I guess I am a college graduate now. Weird, weird, weird. I don’t feel quite ready to be a full-fledged adult yet, so I will be starting Accelerated Nursing School at Creighton in August. I am excited to be pursuing a career in nursing with a background in psychology. The long-term goal is to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner in pediatrics. (We will see where life takes me…I am VERY indecisive ☺.) Before graduation, a few of my best girlfriends and I were curled up on my bed on a Sunday morning discussing the events from the night before. …

Alrighty my friends, I’m not sure how we got here but apparently, I only have a month left of college. Over the years I have shared lessons, and growing moments. There are also a few things I have not shared with you… a few of my favorite and even a little embarrassing moments. Colorado – My roommate and I decided to take a trip to Colorado during quarantine. This was our first time traveling to Colorado and we are very “go with the flow,” type of gals when it comes to traveling.  We talked to locals and looked up some …

As some of you know, I have been in a sorority since my freshmen year of college. With things going online due to the pandemic this past semester, we started looking for new ways to focus on our friendships, even if it meant we could only see each other virtually. We implemented something called “hero journals.” One member writes a letter to another woman in the chapter and explains how they have impacted their life but does not mention who it is until the end of the letter. This idea got me thinking about who my hero would be, and …

I just finished taking my Fall midterms.  By the time I return home for Christmas break, I’ll only have one semester of college remaining. The thought makes me think back to my freshman year. It was a struggle back then, to say the least.  I missed Wisconsin, and even more, I missed the people who made Wisconsin my home. I still think about a conversation I had with my dad back then.  He reminded me to “Hang in there,” “Take it one semester at a time,” and that by the time I made it home for Christmas break, I would …