What makes you qualified for the job?

We are called for such a time as this.

What makes you qualified for the job?

As a result of my history of abandonment and emotional abuse, I’ve identified that I have emotional and mental traumas. I’ve taken the time and due diligence to heal in these areas of my life. However, the journey in this regard is far from over and will be forever ongoing- like an onion peeling back its layers; and yet, I do feel as though I am in a place with my life where God has recruited me for a job. In my obedience to him, I have agreed and believe  I am in a position where I desire to give back to the community what I have learned & overcome from my experiences.

Last year I enrolled in a master's program to become a clinical mental health counselor. At this same time, I started a new job in behavioral mental health. Not having worked in mental health since nursing school, driving feet first off the deep end of the diving board into both these, sounded like a fantastic idea- until the belly flop. OUCH!

In hindsight, this was not a wise decision to birth twin babies like this at the same time. Had I been doing one or the other of these roles for a while, and had I been well acquainted & acclimated to the mental & emotional testing that I would endure, that may have been fine. However, taking both on at the same time was a recipe for disaster. Needless to say, I withdrew from the masters courses because those were not bringing in financial income at the time. I continued with the new opportunity as a nurse in the mental & behavioral health realm.

Recently, I celebrated my first anniversary at this facility. It was exciting that I had discovered so much about the patient population. I recall at the hiring interview with the director, she said that this was the ground zero of mental health, and told me that if I could make it here, I could make it anywhere. This particular facility takes everyone. Patients who are turned away everywhere else will be accepted by our hospital. There are two sides to this coin. The one side of the coin is that by doing this it is an accolade and gives hope to everyone and all homeless people, regardless of their economic status, housing capacity, mental health, etc. The flip side of the coin is the hindrance and negative reality of the potentially dangerous acuity of the mental health of people in the population of patients being accepted at this hospital. It is not a State hospital. The downside to accepting everyone is the increasingly higher and higher acuity of patients being mixed with every other diagnosis, acuity, age, and gender.

There’s a fine line between which patients should be accepted at hospitals and those who should be redirected to state hospitals or different facilities. Unfortunately, policies and procedures are not always in place to match the acuity. The focus on admissions may tend towards the opportunity for facilities to view patients monetarily and thus see patients as potential income. With that said, recently, I was physically assaulted by a patient in the mental behavioral health unit where I was working. As I’m processing through being out of work, I am doing my part of healing from this acute trauma.

Everything is processed through Occupational Health and is submitted as a claim to Workmen’s Comp. Everybody involved thus far has been very kind and accommodating in providing assessment services, making necessary referrals, scheduling diagnostics testing, deciding the plan of care, etc., so that all aspects of my physical care are in place. My employer has been great in addressing the needs of my case and all has been fine and good with what has been made available to me. I was referred to an Occupational Medicine provider for evaluation and referral was made for an MRI, that revealed a torn ACL and meniscus. From there, I was seen by an orthopedic surgeon and received orders for Physical Therapy. Luckily no surgery was needed, and he released me back to work.

But wait, what about the mental and emotional aspects of this assault? Just because I was “physically” assaulted does not mean that I was not emotionally assaulted. This does not mean that my central nervous system did not take a hit as hard as my physical body did. In the process of being my self-advocate in this regard, and asking what is covered under workman compensation, and what other referrals will be made to accommodate this system of my body; the best and consistent answer was for me to utilize our six free sessions through EAP. End of story. That was it. The occupational medicine provider did say she would make a referral for psychology; however, this was offered to me only once I had made the request myself. This was done hoping additional counseling sessions covered under Workmen’s Comp. Since I was traumatized mentally from being completely sideswiped and attacked on our unit, being unsure of the level of traumatization, and not knowing how long healing may take, I want to make sure that just as I am getting physical therapy for my physical body, I am also getting physical therapy for my central nervous system. Needless to say, I have been ushered through the healthcare system physically. However, I have heard crickets from the psychology realm regarding the referral that was supposed to have been made. I am concerned about this.

During this process of events, I’ve taken the opportunity to do a self-evaluation. I’ve identified that I am not in the emotional capacity to return to that unit. My central nervous system has been traumatized. It takes time to heal. It’s so unknown. Truth is, it doesn’t matter what policies, procedures, or trainings have been established for the unit- if you cannot trust that your peers have your back, and are willing to step up as a team to protect each other, and if they do not take pride in honoring and protecting each other from potential dangers, then it’s all fruitless and worthless. This is the position I feel that I am in with this current facility.

Therefore, I’ve been praying and asking God to allow me to operate in the plans and purposes that he has set for me and to find a career that would parallel my passions for health, wellness, longevity, and mental health healing on all fronts- mind, body, and spirit. I heard the Lord say to trust him. He asked me to be patient and not go ahead of him. In my flash, I couldn’t help but go ahead of him. I caught myself exploring LinkedIn, Indeed, and Google searching for what I thought would be an opportunity to bring in income. I was going before the Lord and coming up empty-handed. God was so kind to redirect me and encourage me to get back into focus with him, not worry about tomorrow, allow him to pave the path, and merely walk out this journey. I shifted my paradigm, am focused on him, and have committed to operating from his assignments.

During my devotional time this morning, I came upon an opportunity through social media that parallels my desire for mental health wellness. I was delighted at this moment and knew God had seen me, heard me, and opened doors of opportunity. The Lord told me, in my spirit, to close my Indeed account and to cease further LinkedIn job searches. On both of those, I had on my profiles set that I am open to work. As a result, I was hearing from recruiters regarding positions available in nursing. God told me that this opportunity is the job for me. He said, I will be interviewing you and you do not need those other platforms, so please shut the job search down. I told God that I would do so and I agreed to have an interview with him.

As I sat down with the Lord regarding this mental health wellness company and this interview, I treated it with the same honor and respect I as any other employment interview opportunity. At that moment God asked me the ever-so-famous question…

“What makes you qualified for this job? “

As I heard this question in my spirit, I was shocked! It was as though I was sitting in front of a person in the flesh when I came to a job opportunity where I knew, without a shadow of a doubt that I was more than equipped to fulfill the role. If any other employer would have asked me that question, all I could think was “Oh my goodness! Where would you like me to start?”

When God asked this question, what makes you qualified for the job, my mind went through my whole history of pain, physical abuse, emotional abuse, abandonment, and all the effects of what has happened to my central, nervous system. This coupled with my healing journey and desire for health and wellness made it a match. My passion is searching, seeking, learning, and living in health and wellness. As I have done my part in overcoming my abuses by digging deep to do my healing, I desire to utilize what life has tested me with for the betterment of others. I’ve decided to take the trials and tests and turn them into a testimony for others. All the memories of these negative times, past hurts, and insults on my soul came rushing like a huge wave into the forefront. From the momentous rush of emotions and feelings, my heart felt at that moment, it was like a tidal wave crashing on the beach- I burst out into tears! It was as if my tears were almost squirting from my eyes, not just running down my face in streams. This type of cry was a combination of the intensity of relief from the tears combined with joy, and then while I was having this intense cry- I started to laugh. The only other time this has happened is when I gave birth to my two beautiful daughters. This moment was just like that, God is allowing me to give birth to something beautiful.

I sat there and asked God “What do you mean, what makes me qualified for this role?” I said he is hilarious and has a great sense of humor. Together God and I chuckled. He knew that I was more than qualified for the role. Just like when he was in the garden and asked Adam “Adam, where are you?”- God knew where Adam was the entire time. God was waiting for Adam to tell God where he was. The same is true with this opportunity, God is asking me what makes me qualified for this job because God knows exactly what makes me qualified. He wants me to identify myself and what makes me qualified for this job. God doesn’t call the equipped, he equipped the call.

I now see that God has used everything in my past. Everything that has happened to me has allowed me to become who I am today. I am now conditioned and able to tolerate the ultimate experience he has set for me, to bring a beautiful future. I am more than qualified for this job and look forward to accepting the offer. He exceeds all my expectations and knows I give glory to him.

My business has 3 pillars on which it stands. As a Certified Professional Life Coach, I assist people in achieving goals on their wellness journey. Through consulting, I utilize my skills as a nurse to assess, suggest, and recommend a lifestyle and living pattern that bolsters physical and mental wellness. The third pillar is connecting with people through spiritual heart healing. Utilizing all three pillars of lēf wellness allows people to be seen as a completely interconnected unit. They then can work on their needs from the inside out, allowing transformation in mind, body, and spirit. Through this process, we address the hurdles from life that trip us up, can hurt, and may even affect our mental wellness. People are seen as a whole person. This is a gift and this is just the beginning.