More Of Him

I used to hear people say, "more of Him, less of me"... Or, "more about Him, less about me"...😄. And, I'm thinking that maybe we should pay more attention to our surrounding environment rather than ourselves during this festive season?..

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. - Romans 5:8

Nowadays, I'm getting used to working on Christmas day..😅. And, that's brilliant!.. Huh?..

So, working in the hospital that operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, up to 365 days a year.., is totally normal. Obviously, the hospitals are never entitled for "public holidays" in their schedules 😬..

As for me, working in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) which mostly we're dealing with critically ill patient on ventilator life support is always normal on Christmas day! It's just like working on the ordinary day with those busy environments... Sometimes, it does make me feel sealed off from Christmas spirits or Christmas feelings as to say.. Oh my...😅.

So, they put me on night duty on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day itself.., so meaning that I'm working 2 night shifts that was on December 24th and 25th, then followed by my days off and holidays only after that...😧.

Anyway, it happened that there was one case admitted to the ICU, our Unit in the late evening on the December 24th... According to the daughter, the family was supposed to be on their way back to the hometown for Christmas.., when suddenly the father claimed of hard to breathe and became shortness of breath, and eventually was noted to had up-rolling eyes in the car... Then, they immediately switched their way and came to the hospital instead...😥.

In ICU, we put the patient on Oxygen via a simple face mask device, and the patient had to be seated up as he was gasping for air, because he couldn't breath due to his abdomen or stomach distended.. I remembered that the whole night, he kept on coughing out stale blood fluid from his mouth and he was unable to rest.

At around 2.30 am in the morning, the patient looked very tired but he was still unable to sleep due to his coughing... Then, we decided to insert a nasogastric tube from the nose into the stomach, draining out even more stale blood fluid from his stomach into a drainage bag below... And, I immediately knew that there was a bleeding or leaking blood somewhere inside his stomach...

But, it was only after that the patient appeared to be less coughing, as all the stale blood fluid was now flowing out through the nasogastric tube into the bag hanged below his bed.. After everything was done, the patient unexpectedly told us that he just wanted to go "home"..😢. And eventually, he was able to rest or sleep a bit after that, at least..😓.

"Agree with God, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you." - Job 22:21

Surprisingly, I come to realise that Jesus has to come and die for us.. Huh?.. And again, He has to die for us to live.. Oh?.. And I feel, that's literally about what a "Christmas" is for... Because I think, God isn't prioritize about the life in this world, but He sees the eternal life in heaven instead.

Then, it feels like it's not only about our health, sickness and disease but also about other things especially our struggles in life. It can be the struggle in the family, in the relationship, in our careers and finances, in our lifestyles or addictions, in our overall mental health and so forth... And, all because of our struggles, God knows... Thus, Jesus has to come into the world at "Christmas" and brings that only one ultimate peace and joy into our hearts... So, no matter how hard or, tough or, rough or, difficult life is now that you need to bear or to go through, you just always need to have this thought in mind when you know that only Jesus will give you peace.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. - John 14:27

"Christmas" indeed doesn't bring sadness. It brings joy to those who believe although we do have many struggles in life. Well yes, it's not always easy. It is hard.. But, that particular "Christmas" mindset keeps us going... And, it's always a good thing if we learn to just encourage each other and be kind to each other when we know that there're other people who are in the midst of their struggles especially when Christmas is just around the corner. It will be splendid enough, if only we can show empathy and to have the ability to feel sympathy to those in need during the Christmas season.

When I see whatsoever things that happened in life right now, maybe I should think something like.. Well, it's not only that you may have peace and joy that only "Christmas" can bring but, also may your "Christmas" be more of Him, less of me, too...🙏.

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 8:37-39

"More than enough" - JPCC Worship 🎧