I’m not sure when I first thought “I want to be a nurse”, but by the time I was 15, the desire to go into nursing was simply part of who I was; it became a permanent part of my dreams. When other students entering college were unsure of their major, I walked directly into Ohio State’s College of Nursing without looking back and graduated four years later as a registered nurse. My life as a nurse had begun, and it lasted over 30 years.
A Chance Encounter at a Flu Clinic
It was when I worked as a public health nurse giving flu shots that I met a young mother and her daughter who I still remember vividly. As I was preparing the injection for the mom, I struck up a conversation with the little girl and found out the pertinent information. She was five years old and was thrilled to tell me she was starting Kindergarten very soon. As we chatted, she asked me if I was a nurse. I told her that I was indeed a nurse and then I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up. She promptly answered, “I want to be a seahorse trainer!”
The Power of Being “Loved Into Being”
At five years old, this child was already dreaming and imagining who she would become. Fred Rogers, of the PBS children’s program Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, received a lifetime achievement award at the 1997 Emmy Awards. During his acceptance speech he spoke of all the people who had helped him get to this moment, and asked an auditorium full of adults to close their eyes for ten seconds and think of all the people who “helped you become who you are” and “who loved you into being.” When I dreamed of becoming a nurse and my five-year-old friend dreamed of training seahorses, we were both being loved along the way by the various adults in our lives to dream and imagine our way into creating our very selves. And, isn’t imagining and dreaming the first step to creating anything?
Did God Dream Before Creating?
I wonder if God imagined and dreamed before creating our world? When God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth…,” Genesis 1:24, did He dream of creating animals so unbelievable and amazing that surely no one would believe it was possible?
The Divine Imagination at Work
Sometimes, I imagine the Almighty sitting in a recliner made of clouds to dream and imagine and imagine and dream, over and over again. From the beginning, He must have decided that there were no bad ideas and everything was on the table. Talking birds? Absolutely! A fifty pound sea creature with eight arms and the ability to squeeze through a one inch gap? Of course! An animal that has a 7-foot-long neck? Sure!
Fireflies & Childhood Wonder
As God walked the golden corridors of heaven, He must have imagined a flying insect that would be capable of emitting light during the twilight hours so that thousands of flickers of light could be seen. Did he also imagine that children of every time and place would be so enchanted by these zooming dots of light, they would be compelled to chase them? Did He imagine that generations of parents would watch their children running wild and chasing these elusive dots of light and be enchanted as well?
Created In His Image—with Imagination
After creating the outlandishly bizarre creatures of the Earth, how surprising that God pulled a fast one when he created people in His image. People would not have the ability to squeeze through one inch holes or illuminate body parts, but like God, people would have imaginations that allowed them to pursue their own outlandish dreams.
Dreamers Who Changed the World
Michelangelo would dream of God’s creation of the earth and go on to paint it on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The Wright brothers dreamed of flying through the air - a dream that eventually led them to build and fly the first airplane. Florence Nightingale dreamed of caring for the sick and wounded in a systematic and ordered way that would eventually become the foundation for professional nursing. And one day, I would dream of becoming a nurse and joining the profession Florence Nightingale founded.
God’s Tender Gaze Over All Creation
I imagine God looking down at the Earth with great tenderness from the highest point in heaven gazing upon all the creatures and plants, mountains and oceans, canyons and people that He loved into being. I am certain God remembers every single soul He created throughout time, knowing them by name as well as the number of hairs on their head. And, of course, God also knows by name the little soul who dreamed of training seahorses and, for all we know, is working at an aquarium training seahorses this very minute.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to learn more about the:
Tenth Annual Abundant Aging Symposium
Ignite Creative Potential: The Aging Superpower
Exploring New Options, Self-Expression and Experiencing Joy
Friday, October 31, 2025 9:45 am to 3:15pm
In Person and Online | The Ohioan (formerly Nationwide Hotel), Columbus, Ohio