30 Stories for Girls with God-Sized Dreams

Sample excerpt

Florence Nightingale Nurse (1820–1910) Compassionate Servant

Do you know what you want to be when you grow up? Not everyone does at an early age, but God has designed each one of us with at least one special talent. God gave Florence Nightingale the gift of helping others. With God’s help, Florence dedicated her life to help- ing sick people. Her influence forever changed the way people practice medicine today.

Florence grew up in a very wealthy family. Her father made sure that she was well educated, and she learned many subjects, including Latin, Greek, French, history, and math. Young ladies at that time were expected to get married to rich and important men and raise a family. Florence, however, realized that God had a different plan for her. She wanted to help sick and poor people. When she was just seventeen years old, she wrote, “God spoke to me and called me to His service.”

But when Florence shared her dream to pursue nursing, her family disapproved. Nursing was not considered an acceptable job for a young woman. Yet Florence knew this was what she was supposed to do. She continued to help sick and poor people who lived in a nearby village.

Waiting is not easy, but God sometimes has us wait because He has a perfect plan for us. Florence had to wait several years before she could be trained in nursing, but she eventually enrolled in a school in Germany. Returning to England a few years later, Florence got a job at a hospital, where she was quickly promoted to superintendent. When the Crimean War broke out shortly afterward, Florence gathered a group of nurses and sailed to Crimea in Eastern Europe to help sick and wounded soldiers.

The conditions left Florence shocked and saddened when she arrived. More soldiers were dying from the spread of disease inside the hospital than from battle injuries. A nearby cesspool caused the water to be contaminated. Patients lay in their own filth. Rats and bugs infested every room. The hospital lacked help, and medical supplies were low. Florence later recalled, “Beggars in the streets of London were at that time leading the lives of princes compared to the life of our soldiers in the Crimea when I arrived on the scene with thirty-six nurses.”

What would you have done under such conditions? Would you have given up because it seemed almost impossible to make things right? Florence didn’t give up. She was dedicated to helping those in need. She knew God called her to this task.

Right away, Florence got to work. She en- listed patients who were well enough to clean the inside of the hospital. She created a kitchen that allowed healthy meals to be prepared for patients who could only eat certain foods. She set up laundry services so they would have clean linens. She even started a library so that patients could pass the time reading. Her patients nick- named her “the Lady with the Lamp” because she would often carry a

lamp as she worked late into the night, tending to the wounded.

With the changes that Florence made, the death rate in the hospital dropped! Many men were now living instead of dying. Using her experiences, Florence wrote a report for the British Army that ex- plained how to improve hospitals. It caused major changes in the way

hospitals around the world were run from then on. After the war, Florence returned home to a hero’s welcome. The Queen presented her with a valuable brooch and prize money. Florence used the money to help sick people. She established St. Thomas’ Hospital and the Nightingale Training School for Nurses. Because of Florence, nursing grew into an honorable career for women.

While in Crimea, Florence had received an infection that left her in poor health. Despite this, she wrote books and papers about the proper way to run hospitals. From her bed, Florence conducted inter- views and welcomed important visitors. She even gave advice during the American Civil War on how to manage field hospitals.

Florence died at the age of ninety. She at one time said, “It is such a blessing to have been called, however unworthy, to be the handmaid of the Lord.” Florence inspires us to find our gifts and use them to serve God.

PRAYER:

Dear God, thank You for giving me a unique gift. Help me to learn more about the way You made me so I can use that gift to help people. Amen.