Leading To a Higher Power

"You are not here merely to make a living.  You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement.  You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand."    ~Woodrow Wilson~

 

Ok, I'm going to take a giant leap of faith.  This blog will be changing a little.  I'll still be giving you tips and ideas about how to lead your staff and increase the health of your practice, but the focus is going to shift somewhat because my focus has shifted.  

Last July 4th, my life as I knew it changed forever.  I'm not going to give you the particulars about what changed, but I'm going to tell you everything about what inspired and saved me from utter despair.  

I'm Catholic and for the previous two years, I had stopped going to church.  I had a bunch of reasons that all seemed valid, which now just seem stupid and pompous.  On the morning of July 4th, I had the strong feeling that I should go to church, 7:30 mass to be exact.  Are you kidding, no way, that's way too early.  The was insistent though, so I got dressed and went.  I realized that I missed all the ceremony of the mass and the community with God and my fellow parishioners.  I had been kidding myself to think I could take care of my faith at home, I knew I was back for good.  That night, at 10:30, the life I had spent my entire adulthood building, disintegrated.  

I got through the rest of the night and amazingly, went to work where I kept my problem to myself.  The only thought that got me through that day, was that I would go to the church and talk to the pastor after work.  When I got to the church office the secretary told me that he had already gone home to the rectory.  I was distraught and she saw that I had a true need so she called him and he agreed to come back and see me. 

I told him what had happened and he counseled me for over an hour.  I could see he was tired, but he saw my need. He told me that God had called me to church that morning so he could embrace me in my trouble and heartache.  He met with me two more times after that and then told me what I needed to do.  First, I needed to forgive myself for not going to church.  It was part of my journey, and the necessity for it would be revealed later.  Next, I needed to spend time alone in the chapel with God, building my relationship with Him and strengthening my prayer life.  So basically, Fr. Nick set me on my feet and gave me a gentle push in the right direction.  Smart man, now rather than depend on him, I depend on God, and rightly so.  Fr. Nick was always available to me if I needed his counsel, but I learned to lean on God more and more.  One more thing Fr. Nick said that seemed a little odd at the time was, "Let's see what good will come of this."  At first, I was skeptical that any good could come of the situation I was in,  now I could make a long list.

Now, 8 months later I am re-building my life and stronger than ever in my faith.  I also know the answer to why leaving the church for a while was a part of my journey.  I would have continued to be a "Sunday Catholic" if I'd never left.  I'd never have gone any deeper into my faith.  So, yes, I forgive myself.

Recently we had a speaker, Matthew Kelly, at our church for an all day seminar.  He is calling all Catholics to become the best possible version of themselves, as God created us to be.  I believe that God has created all mankind, regardless of their particular faith, to become the best possible version of themselves.  Hearing Matthew inspired me to take his message into my daily life.

That is where I intend to take this blog.  Being Catholic, I will introduce ideas from scripture, knowledge I gain from reading works by authors like Matthew Kelly, C.S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, and writers of all faiths.  My focus is on leading to serve a higher power.  When we serve God, or any benign higher power, we work toward a greater good, and that is how to find true success.  

The difference you may see will be in some of the quotes I use, some of the ideas I base the content of a post on, and some of the books I may list on the side panel.  It's an addition and somewhat of a shift, but not that far from where I've always come from.  I will also, for the first time, allow guest writers.  I would be happy to have contributions from readers of other faiths to discuss how their faith can be applied to building a better practice, or just to help us understand other faiths so we can better relate to our co-workers and patients.  I think there is a lot of confusion and misplaced fear of other religions, and maybe we can ease that a little.

I hope you'll stick with me and see where we'll go with this new focus.  Take this leap of faith with me and "Let's see what good will come of this."

Comments

[Katherine]

I LOVED your blog but no thanks not interested in this new shift, but good luck.

[Linda Zdanowicz]

Hi Katherine, I'd be sorry to lose you as a reader, but respect that decision if that's what you feel is best for you. May I suggest you wait until I at least publish one post along these lines. As I said, it's where I've always come from anyway. I don't intend to be in your face or pushing an agenda, just acknowledging the influence that faith has in my work and encouraging others to discover how a faith based approach could influence their leadership. I in no way intend to be judgmental. I know many people who are not connected to any faith denomination, but are the finest example of human kindness and goodness. Much of the blog will not change at all, this is just a new category I'm adding. I ask you to indulge me in this and see if it makes you uncomfortable. If not, thank you for your enjoyment of the blog till this point.
Linda

[Laureen Lipscomb]

Hello. One of the reasons I believe I was led into a profession in Dental Hygiene is merely for the act of service. This profession has led me to serve others, meet others, and sometimes be their only connection to faith. I have left the office the past 26 years sobbing because of a death of a patients spouse, rejoicing in a patients decision to spend a month at an African orphanage, enraged that a child is neglected by a family member,horrified by a patient's health, etc. But my faith has seen me through all of these times. I am also Catholic. In the most difficult times in my life...a divorce, infertility, loss of a two friends from breast cancer in the same year, etc. I have put my faith in GOD, and asked him to help me be the face of Christ for someone on a day when I am too tired to go forward. I asked that I may help someone who may need comfort and understanding on the worst of days when I feel like I cannot give any more. I never cease to be amazed at what is possible in faith. The rewards are incredible! Remember, you are not alone, and in our profession...anything is possible. Best wishes and blessings to you! Laureen (RDH- 26th year)

[Linda Zdanowicz]

Hi Laureen, I love the way you let your faith guide you with your patients. It never fails to amaze me how often a patient just needs someone to talk to who will care about them. I used to get annoyed at pts. Who kept disrupting treatment to swallow every 30 secs, etc. Now vie decided to pray for them to be able to relax and have less anxiety. At the least, I feel more positive toward them, and maybe that relaxes them because they seem to do better. It just reminds me to stop judging them and to accept them as they are.