kingdom instead of the Lord’s, and ultimately He must rescue me from myself and create in me a new heart to worship Him,” Katie said. “We also must fight that belief that we only ‘worship’ on Sunday and just ‘go to work’ Monday through Friday. Secular culture wants us to accept that there is a divide between our hearts and our heads, that the sacred and the secular have no overlap. It is difficult to think creatively about how to make our vocation a place of worship. I was raised in a Christian home and in Christian school for 16 years and still find it a challenge that requires purposeful thought and practice.” HONORING GOD THROUGH CAREER But Katie has done just that with her vocation. “My job as a nurse brings me into a close view of humanity, and my Christian worldview informs me that human beings are created in the image of God. It is the desire and prayer of my heart that God would grant me patience, mercy and compassion for my patients so that He is honored when His image bearers are comforted, restored and have their dignity affirmed. I endeavor to be a skilled and capable nurse, to be an expert at my profession so that I may do excellent work.” Katie continued, “At creation there was no pain and suffering, no illness or disease, no cause for a nurse. However, pain and brokenness entered the world through sin and disobedience, creating a need for my profession. “I see my work as worship because I believe that I have the privilege of living out the promise that Christ has come, and will come again, reversing the curse of sin from the Garden of Eden. “The patients I take care of have cancer, broken bones, addictions, failing organs and much more. Working as a nurse, I can help to alleviate suffering, bring healing and show mercy. These small acts, to varying degrees, work to reverse the curse of sin. So I give pain medicine, I clean wounds, I change bedpans, I hold hands – because my Lord is on His throne, sovereignly ruling over all His creation, and one day He will return to fully restore and redeem it.” CORPORATE WORSHIP, PERSONAL DEVOTIONS & LIVING IN COMMUNITY Although she sees all of life as worship, Katie understands the special necessity of corporate worship, private devotions and living in community. “Corporate worship with a body of believers is a weekly, essential place of worship for my soul,” Katie remarked. “Every Sunday my heart is renewed by singing praises, hearing Scripture and listening to the preached Word where I am reminded of the truth of the Gospel. Private worship, time spent reading God’s word and in prayer is equally as important and vital to the Lord’s work in my heart and life. “Throughout the week I am reminded of Gospel truth by being in relationship with friends who point me to Christ. We talk about it at our small group, and we encourage each other on mission together for friends who do not yet know the Gospel. Without these daily and weekly elements in my life, I will fall back to worship of myself and forget the worship of our great God.”
Katie was an outgoing and active student throughout her 13 years at Lakeland Christian. She played basketball, softball and volleyball, participated in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and worked as part of the yearbook staff. “Mr. Musick, Mrs. Oncu and Miss Ellis were the most influential teachers during my time at LCS,” Katie said. “Without Mr. Musick I would not know and love science the way I do. I learned so much from him because he enjoys what he is teaching, and he enjoys whom he is teaching. That combination is powerful! Without Mrs. Oncu I would not know how to write a paper. She taught me not to start sentences with ‘And’ as well as how to express myself in a thoughtful, organized manner. Miss Ellis coached me in volleyball and softball.” Upon graduating from LCS in 1999, Katie attended Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia, where she received a degree in Environmental Biology with a minor in Community Development. She graduated in 2003 and, after spending three months in Honduras with an organization called The Mercy Ships, Katie decided to go back to school and pursue a nursing degree. She completed her degree in 2006 from Duke University School of Nursing and now serves as a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department at Orlando Regional Medical Center, a Level One Trauma Center.
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