A Much Needed Distraction

The past few weeks have been quite challenging.  I've been thinking a lot about what the future holds and where I will go after this assignment ends. There are a few different options and I am not sure right now where God is leading me. 

Work has also been a struggle.  Some of my work days have lasted 14+ hours and I have found myself continuing to think about the hospital even after I get home.  I find myself worrying about my patients who are going through such hard times and hoping that they have the support they need. I think back through the day and ponder how I could have done things differently to utilize my time better.  I wonder what the next day will bring.  I have found myself praying a lot that I will be able to show the love of Christ to people in the way that I care for them and praying that they will have peace and healing.  Not only do I work long hours, I spend long hours thinking about work.  Sometimes it's hard to turn off my nurse brain.  

I don't think it's a bad thing to think about these things, but if I spend too much time in my thoughts I find some anxiety and feelings of inadequacy creeping in and that doesn't help me to make better decisions or be a better nurse.  Sometimes I need a distraction.  

Sometimes I need to don a harness and clip myself to a cable and swing across a forest canopy.

 

That's me and my friend Ashley on the end.  We decided we deserved a break from work and it just so happens that Fayetteville is home to a ziplining course.  Zipquest has a few different options for touring the Carver's Falls area, but we decided to go all out and do the full 2 1/2 hour tour.  It was worth it.  We weren't able to take cameras, so these pictures are the ones taken by the staff there.

They start you off with a low line so you can figure out how to zip, and before you know it you're cruising through the treetops. If anything can help clear your mind it's ziplining. There's no way to be anywhere except in the moment.

 

 

Obviously the food of choice after swinging through the forest is sushi.  We went to a restaurant called Miyabi's that night and enjoyed some lovely company while we ate our hearts out. 

By the time our black sesame, green tea, and red bean mochi ice cream came, I was in a whole new state of mind.  A day of distraction was exactly what I needed.