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Thursday, March 3, 2011

Novice or Expert?

There is this book I had to read a long time ago when I was in school working on my Bachelors Degree in Nursing. The book is called Novice to Expert. That's it right over there to  your left, just in case you need a visual or would want to learn about this process that nurses go through. Written by Patricia Benner, it's been revised a few times. I'm sure it has so much more exciting information in this latest addition (sarcasm intended).

Back to my point... So nurses go through this process from being a fresh new nurse to being a nurse with much wisdom and experience. New nurses know that they don't know much and they aren't afraid to ask for help or admit that they need help. At some point a new nurse evolves into this person that has a little more knowledge and experience and if they are not careful, they can actually be dangerous because they don't know what they don't know. 

This really made me think about how we are in relation to God. I think many of us "Christians" (I don't like that word for various reasons, don't have time to explain right now) go through this same process. After a while of following Christ, we kinda think we know everything. But we will never know all of who God is. We will need to seek Him and keep learning about Him for our entire lives here on earth. 
Knowing that you don't know everything is better than thinking that you do know everything (cause you really don't) :)
 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
   so are my ways higher than your ways
   and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

5 comments:

  1. Yep. So easy to be judgmental. But even that which we know for sure, we know only because Christ gave us eyes to see.

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  2. angie! i love your place here, friend. and i love this post. i want to learn this fear of God, this wisdom, so i never step ahead... so i never assume i know more than he. i so appreciate you. xo

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  3. Oh oh yes! It is terrible how we fall into a trap of thinking that we know everything just because we know a little bit more than the person next to us. In my career this is also a huge syndrome (international humantarian work). And it's nurtured by society because we are so often dismissed if we don't act particularly confident.

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  4. True. I have found that times of "mastery" or thinking I have it all down, because I have finally gotten a little bit taken care of, are followed by intense pruning. I look back with gentle chagrin at how much I thought I knew and pain at how that rigid pride may have hurt others.

    Off topic - I love the way your header and background relate. Very cool.

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  5. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments. It's means a lot to know that people are reading and relating to my posts :)

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