Firsts

Welcome to my very first blog post!

I aim to post on an inspirational theme at least every fortnight. Other topics might also include writing and book extracts. I’d love you to join me on this journey.

Experiencing, or doing, things for the first time can be nerve-racking, can’t it?   Do you remember some of the firsts in your life?

  • Your first day at a new school, or worse still, a new job?
  • Your first driving lesson?
  • Your first crush? First kiss?
  • Your first rejection, or first success?
  • The birth of your first baby?

I’ll never forget the first intramuscular injection I administered as a student nurse.

I went to the patient’s bedside, along with the supervising staff nurse, and explained to the gentleman what I was going to do. The patient was hesitant. “Is this your first time nurse?” he said, whilst turning over on to his side.

“Oh no!” the staff nurse exclaimed, before I had a chance to reply. “Nurse has given dozens of injections before.”

Thankfully the man couldn’t see the look of surprise on my face as he lowered his pyjama trousers just enough for me to do the deed. I held the needle-topped syringe in my right hand, while drawing an imaginary grid on his flesh with the left, to ensure I was aiming for the correct position. And with the precision of an award-winning dart-thrower the needle found its mark, piercing skin and sliding deep into the muscle, where I then delivered the necessary medication.

With a few deep breaths and reassuring comments, I carefully withdrew said instrument of torture. The giving of my first injection was over! And the subsequent few thousand were a breeze!

The patient’s reaction? “It’s easy to see you’ve done that before nurse.” He complimented, straightening himself up in the bed. “You can do it again anytime.”

Once out of earshot, the staff nurse and I burst into fits of laughter. “Why did you tell him I’d given loads of injections before?” I asked.

“Well, you have,” she replied, pointing to an extremely damaged orange. “He didn’t need to know it was a piece of fruit you’ve been practicing on!”

The memories of ‘firsts’ in our lives have the power to rekindle a mix of emotions as we retrieve them from the filing cabinets of our minds. Some will undoubtedly bring great joy, while others might very well re-awaken sadness or fear. But they do not have to define who we are today.

We are more than the illness we might carry around in our bodies; more than the person widowed or abandoned; more than the mother who has buried a child. Our lives are an intricate tapestry of experiences and emotions, making us the precious individuals we are today.

Even the ‘firsts’ in our lives, especially the ones we’d rather forget, can be transformed, because God offers us a ‘first’ like no other. For we read in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away (even the shaky ‘firsts’); behold all things have become new.” (Italics mine)

That’s a ‘first’ I also remember in my life. When I was a teenager, I let Christ do His re-creating work in my heart, and make me new. Now that is a life defining ‘first’, one that is available to whomever chooses to experience it.

What are some of the ‘firsts’ that readily come to your mind?

August 2015

By |2018-08-14T11:52:36+00:00August 5th, 2015|Categories: Inspirational|Tags: , , |21 Comments

21 Comments

  1. Robin Fairbairn August 5, 2015 at 3:44 pm

    Thanks Catherine look forward to reading your blog. May the Lord bless you in this new endeavour

    • Catherine August 5, 2015 at 3:55 pm

      Thanks Robin. Hoping I remember how to use the technology next time 🙂

  2. Sandra Thompson August 5, 2015 at 3:59 pm

    Thanks for another inspirational avenue! May it be a blessing to many.

    • Catherine August 5, 2015 at 4:11 pm

      Thanks Sandra… that’s all I ask for 🙂

  3. Valerie Wilson August 5, 2015 at 4:01 pm

    Think being a nurse Catherine brought a lot of firsts!!One of those firsts which I will always remember was the very first death I experienced as a young seventeen and half year old student nurse. I remember crying and not knowing whether it was ok for me to do so. I have 47 more years of life experiences since then and know that it is definitely ok! As Romans 12 v15 says … Rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn ….

    • Catherine August 5, 2015 at 4:10 pm

      I remember that too Valerie and I remember delivering my first baby as a student midwife… that time it was rejoicing!

  4. Allie August 5, 2015 at 5:15 pm

    Hi Catherine,
    I discovered you & your books today through a post on FB (Woman Alive bk club) you sound like my sort of writer!
    I look forward to following your blog.

    Bless you

    Allie

    • Catherine August 5, 2015 at 5:37 pm

      Thanks Allie 🙂 Amy runs a great online bookclub for Woman Alive.

  5. Sandra Dunn August 5, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    Thank you Catherine for all your writings. I do appreciate them. X

    • Catherine August 5, 2015 at 5:36 pm

      Thanks for the encouragement Sandra.

  6. Phyllis August 5, 2015 at 5:24 pm

    Thank you Catherine.I need this today, heading back to work to run my first lampshade workshop.x

    • Catherine August 5, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      Wow, I’m very impressed Phyllis. Sounds very interesting.

  7. Ashley Luke August 5, 2015 at 8:54 pm

    Your first blog. Isn’t it amazing the opportunities God provides to share with others? Wishing you well with this next step.
    We’ve had a first just in the past week-Christopher’s first trip to camp. It brought back many memories for me and has created new ones for him.
    God bless x

    • Catherine August 6, 2015 at 8:05 am

      Oh Ashley, I remember Paul’s first camp – I stood watching the bus pull away, and cried! But he had a great time 🙂 And it’s so good for them… and us 🙂

  8. Helen Morton August 6, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    congratulations Catherine on yet another first to celebrate! Remember another first when you moved to a new primary school and joined our class! And we’re still good friends almost 50 years later! Some firsts are just made to last!

    • Catherine August 6, 2015 at 7:45 pm

      Yes, Helen I do remember that, and I’m so glad of your friendship down through all these years!

  9. Helen Murray August 7, 2015 at 10:06 am

    What a beautiful new blog – absorbing and thought provoking too. I shall be back!

    • Catherine August 7, 2015 at 2:44 pm

      Thanks Helen, I look forward to you visiting 🙂

  10. Hannah Ramsey August 9, 2015 at 10:54 pm

    That’s a really helpful blog catherine! Thank you! I can’t wait to read all the others 🙂

    • Catherine August 19, 2015 at 7:40 pm

      Glad you liked it Hannah. Still getting used to all this… sorry for slow reply 🙂

  11. Catherine September 21, 2015 at 7:32 am

    Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

Comments are closed.