I just remembered a joke I heard recently: “I wondered why the frisbee was getting bigger, and then it hit me.”

Well today I was struck by the realization that the Christian walk is a lot like being a nurse. Let me explain.

This week at camp they were short on personnel. They said they needed help in the medical area because there is no camp nurse this week. I volunteered to cover the job for a few days. It has been interesting to be sure.

As a nurse, I care for people, and then they go on with their lives. Sometimes they transfer to the ICU, sometimes they get discharged from the hospital, but no matter what happens after they leave my care, I don’t get to hear “the rest of the story.” Federal privacy regulations state that once a patient leaves my care, I am not allowed to find out anything about their condition unless they contact me and choose to tell me. So if one of my patients get sicker and goes to the ICU, I would be breaking the law if I even asked someone how the patient is doing.

What does this have to do with the Christian life, you ask? In I Corinthians 3:6 Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.”
As Christians, we move in and out of people’s lives, hopefully helping them get closer to God through our actions and words. We don’t always get to see the results of our actions. We may never know on Earth what effect we had on someone’s life. But that’s ok. We aren’t called to understand the multitude of reasons behind why God wants us to do this or that, we are simply called to obey.

But the great part is that someday, after this life is over, we WILL get to hear the rest of the story. I think it’s worth it to obey God, and leave the results up to Him.