Saturday, February 17, 2018

Leading by Example: A tribute to Deloris Carlson

   My family and I have been going to Family Camp at Camp YoliJwa for the last 9 years. We have met many friends by going there. One family we have met is the Carlson family. Del was the nurse at Family Camp for all of those years.
   If you know me, you know I can be stubborn when it comes to my health. I do not like to go to the doctor unless I have to. I did not have to go to Nurse Del that often but one year I did. I play soccer and before camp I was doing my fitness workout. While I was running, I twisted my ankle. That was about a month before camp. I had nursed my ankle for a while and stopped running, because ankles can be finicky. While at camp I was playing and my ankle started to swell up again. I decided I should probably go to the nurse.
   I found Nurse Del sitting on the rocking chair in the lobby with one of her grandchildren. I told her about my ankle and I said I probably just need an ice pack. Nurse Del did not argue she just showed me where the ice packs were at. I appreciated that she did not try to baby me. She was able to read people and she could tell I knew what I needed.
   But, Del was so much more than the camp nurse. She loved others in the way that they needed to be loved. She knew I was not touchy feely but she was able to give a kind word and sometimes a hug when you needed it. She impacted so many lives not just as a nurse but also through teaching middle schoolers at camp but she did not preach at them. She led by example, which is not easy to do.
   Nurse Del will truly be missed by her family, coworkers, church family, and those of us at family camp. She was able to impact so many people because she cared and loved others like Jesus did.
   What about you: do you follow Jesus’ example? Would people say that you loved others no matter what? 
   Philippians 2:3-4 and Philippians 4:13
   Thoughts and prayers to the Carlson family.

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