Meet Our Parish Nurse: Christina Allen MS, RN, FNPC
"I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content."
- Philippians 4:11
I have been a registered nurse for ten years. I graduated from Hudson Valley School of Nursing in 1998 and have worked at Albany Medical Center since then. I have also worked several part time and per diem jobs, so I have a wide range of experience in nursing. In 2003, I went back to school at SUNY for my master's and became a nurse practitioner in 2007. I now work at Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital on the brain injury unit. My job is incredibly fulfilling.
I am also blessed in my home life. I have two wonderful children who most of you know. My Cheree is our Evangelist and smiley Jack is our entertainment.
We live right in the village proper and love Scotia. We moved here in 2004. Mother Ellen is the Shepherd who led us here. A hundred times "Thank you, Mother Ellen" for leading us to our St. Andrew's family.
I look forward to a ministry of healing. The focus of which will be holistic health what it is, how to achieve it and how to keep it.
What is Holistic Health?
It is health of the whole person - including mind, body and spirit. It involves increasing self-knowledge, increasing personal responsibility in our own health, and having faith in the healing mission of Jesus Christ.
Why do we want it?
Taking care of our physical health is a part of God's plan for us. As we grow in our faith we may learn why Paul could write, “I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content.” To be healthy does not always mean to be physically whole - sometimes it means to accept the limitations of our bodies as we concentrate on the salvation of our souls. Learning to be content with the health limitations that we cannot overcome will bring us peace and increase our ability to know and love the Lord.
How Can We Obtain Holistic Health?
Healing is central to the ministry of Jesus. Jesus is a holistic healer: he did not see a separation of body and spirit when he forgave sins and restored sight. Twenty percent of the stories about Jesus in the Bible refer to his healing.
Physically healing happens in the cells of the body. God is at work in these miniscule places. All healing is of God.
Paul said, "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content," when he was a poor prisoner shut up in Nero's dungeon at Rome. He was virtually cut off from all outside contact and kept chained in a dungeon (2 Timothy 1:16). He was probably held underground in a small, dark stone dungeon whose only entrance was a person-sized hole in the ceiling. The dungeon itself is not large. Yet it was sometimes used to hold as many as forty prisoners. The discomfort, the dark, the stench, and the misery were unbearable. He was dreading the savage cold of coming winter (vv. 13, 21), and without any hope of deliverance from the death sentence that had been imposed on him. He suffered.
Yet Paul learned under these circumstances to be content. How? The answer is simple, he had Jesus beside him. He had not abandoned his faith even when it meant that he would suffer and die for his love of Jesus Christ.
Can Paul's suffering teach us a lesson? I think so, even at our worst suffering we are still so much better off than those who don't know Jesus. We have our faith to sustain us under terrible circumstances and we have the community of our church and our Christianity. We can never be stripped of these precious rights that we received by God’s grace. When we see others in pain or poor health, do we offer them the greatest consolation we have?
When you suffer remember that Jesus is there with you and will not leave you ever. When you are ill, please contact our church community so that we can share in your faith and healing.
