Because He Cares For You.

Why God's love matters more than achievement

Hey friends,

Thanks for being here. Sorry this one is dropping a little later than I intended, I have been studying my butt off for the NCLEX, which, if you don’t know, are the boards that newly graduated nurses need to take to become licensed.

ANYWAY. Enough of that boring stuff.

Wanted to let you know that I also opened up an Instagram profile, just to continue promoting my writing in different ways. Don’t worry, ALL of my writing content will always be here on Substack first.

You can find my Instagram link here.

Lastly, I always love to hear from YOU! If something that I write resonates or you’d simply like to connect, please reach out in the comments! I try to reply to each one that I get (to the best of my ability).

Alright, that’s all. God bless! :)

It was finally late April; the penultimate step in the accelerated nursing program, marked by final exams, last clinical rotations, NCLEX prep, and logistical instructions about pinning and graduation.

If the rigor of accelerated schooling could be measured by the pace of a race, then the final stretch was a dead sprint. Every student shared the same goal of finishing the race well, while national boards peeked over the horizon instilling a dull trepidation of whether our academic performance would ultimately culminate in licensure.

It was thrilling, terrifying, and frankly, sobering considering that within months, many of us would be working in various places in healthcare, all with the title of RN.

I recall one interaction during a trauma call in the ER as a student when the charge nurse jokingly shouted, “Has anyone thought of calling 911?” to which the attending physician immediately shot back, “Bro, we are 911!”

I laughed about it then, but have never quite forgotten the underlying truth that for many of our patients, the interdisciplinary medical team is what stands between healing and death. Patients put their lives into the hands of nurses and doctors and therapists to hold and protect, and that privilege must never be taken for granted.

If I am being honest, just as I neared the final week, the stress of it all was catching up to me. I was in a perpetual state of overdrive, riding a chronic high of anxiety, caffeine, and cortisol. The days blurred together as I crammed for tests, my kids stayed busy at home, I was hustling to add the final touches to my commencement speech, and sleep felt like a long lost luxury.

This gif just felt right here.

Of course, right in the middle of finals week — mere days before I was to present the commencement address — I developed a steady cough. It wasn’t surprising. By that point, I had learned that when the body remains locked in fight-or-flight mode, its energy is funneled toward the systems most essential for immediate survival. There is only so much to go around, and eventually something gives. More often than not, the immune system is first to pay the price.

My anxiety-prone mind pondered the worst outcomes (as anxiety usually does) and all I could think about was what would happen if I failed nursing school on the home stretch and had an embarrassing coughing spell in front of 3,000 people as I choked through my speech. This, of course, only worsened the spiral.

I reached out to my good friend, Alex.

And let me tell you; every man needs other Godly men to sharpen, strengthen, and encourage them. To give them Godly truth even when it hurts and build up one another in courage and in boldness. You don’t necessarily need many, but a select few who can be depended on in the good and the trying times. It shouldn’t be optional and it shouldn’t just be the type of friends who like to drink beer and watch football. I’m talking about spiritually grounded men of God who seek after the Lord in all they do and who will show up no matter what. Men who raise their families up in the Word and make you want to be a better disciple. Men you spiritually look up to.

Alex is that type of man in my life.

I prepared a text and sent it off before my brain had time to process it.

I unloaded every link in the heavy chain of worry I had been carrying, asking for prayer and explaining that if I didn’t find a way to unburden myself from its weight, I felt like I might suffocate beneath it.

His reply was timely and poignant, cutting through my dread with an incredibly simple yet profound biblical truth that I needed to hear.

He said, “This isn’t a small issue. I’m happy to pray for this. Thanks for asking, man. 1 Peter 5:7 — ‘Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.’ The blessing we have is that God cares for us, whether the burden feels big or small.”

Here’s the text. He probably had no intentions of having this shared, but it needed to be. Moral of the story is find yourself a friend like Alex.

In the fog of hardship, I hadn’t realized that I was trying to do it all on my own. Not only that, but that I had completely disregarded that none of it — not one thing — was about me.

I forgot that this entire journey, my entire life was the Lord’s. Moreover, that the biggest blessing of all had nothing to do with my own achievement, but merely by being loved by Him.

He didn’t have to do that, after all.

He could have given up on humanity after the fall of Adam and Eve and decide to show no mercy to us as we flounder around in our own sinful muck.

But that’s not what He did.

He showed up. He was driven toward compassion. He extended mercy. He made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. And He made a way for us to dwell with Him for eternity.

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

What a gift it is to be simply loved by Him.

Alex was right.

I felt the anxiety slip away; not completely, but the chain had fallen. The fear had been uprooted. Not because of my mindset, but because of my posture. No longer did I carry the weight of my future on my shoulders. My future was being crafted and held by the One who created me, all I had to do was yield and be faithful to the call, sharing Christ and Christ crucified — even if it meant coughing in front of an audience and letting go of my pride.

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As it turns out, none of my fears were validated.

I passed my final exams with strong marks and made it through both pinning and the commencement ceremony without a hitch. I felt confident and prepared and never even felt a tickle in my throat as I delivered my speech.

Most of all, God was glorified.

The morning of commencement, I began my morning in earnest prayer, simply telling God over and over again that the biggest blessing of all was to be loved by Him. Everything else was fleeting. Nothing else had the power to redeem me from my sin, give me ultimate purpose in life, and the confidence needed to go forth and do hard things.

Nothing else could ever save—
Ever restore—
Ever bless
Than the everlasting love of God.

I needed that then, and I still need that today.

I’m thankful for Alex for reminding me of the mere joy it is to receive and rest in the arms of God who loves us, no matter what difficulty awaits on this side of eternity.

The relief was palpable.

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