Nijmeh Hodaly Curren is our Woman of the Week, nominated for her work as a medical professional and priest's wife. We asked her to tell you how she came to have those two roles despite the myriad obstacles that stood in her way:
"'Stand at the edge of the abyss of despair and when you can't bear it anymore, draw back and have a cup of tea'--Saint Sophrony of Essex
"This quote sums up my past eight years since I immigrated to the States from Germany.
"I grew up in Bethlehem, Palestine. Living there means surviving and learning to be resilient. I left Palestine at the age of 18 to go to Germany, in the middle of the second uprising. I attended medical school there, and graduated with my medical degree in my third language! I worked there for a while, and then after marrying my love, we moved to the States. This was perhaps the easiest decision I made. My husband was called to the priesthood and I wanted to serve with him, but it meant giving up my residency in Germany and starting over. I decided that if not for Christ I would not be there anyway, and if it's for Him, I will be more than happy to do it, so we moved to the States to establish our family.
"I went through motherhood and passed my licensing exams without the support of my family, who are still in the West Bank. I thought I could handle basically anything. God has never forsaken me. But after trying and failing two times to match into a residency program to restart my residency in the States, I was falling into that abyss, and hopelessness took over my life. It was then I realized, God does give us more than we can handle.
"Not managing to get a residency spot was not really the reason why I felt hopeless, I was living the lowest point of my life because I felt like God had forsaken me. I have never felt His absence through so much, except for that period in my life.
"While I was angry, praying, and asking him where He was, and why after giving up so much to serve Him, He had allowed this to happen, the degree I had worked so hard on and left my family in Palestine to achieve in Germany was suddenly worthless.
"I did not realize back then that losing it would become the biggest blessing of my life. If I had not lost it, I would not have found myself."
Axia!
Our Woman of the Week is Nijmeh Hodaly Curren, nominated for her work as a medical professional and priest's wife. We asked her to tell you how she came to have her current position:
"God has His own way of peeling away the layers we build around ourselves, to expose our true selves, so we can encounter Him. He wants the most authentic and true version of His creation.
"When you go through medical school, you start quite early in your life, especially in Europe, so it becomes who you are. Walking away from it meant to look deep into myself and see who I really am. I am not just an MD, I am a wife, a priest's wife, a mother of two amazing girls, a friend, a sister, and a daughter but most importantly, a child of God.
"In my sorrows and hopelessness my faith transformed. God has shut all the noise around me that was taking me away from Him, and I started living more intentionally, living more focused on serving Him through serving my family and church.
"I waited on Him to show me where to next for a long time. I knocked on all doors, and talked to so many people. there was not much to be done. I would always joke that doctor shortages in this pandemic are a joke, because so many unmatched medical doctors are sitting at home doing nothing!
"One morning I woke up with immense joy telling my husband how I saw Saint Nektarios in my dream the night before. This saint, who I always loved, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to look around, I saw him as if alive on this earth talking to people! I knew then, help is here!
"I reached back out to a friend who told me about a job in clinical research, and applied for a second time this summer, and with Saint Nektarios's prayers, all doors suddenly were open. I went from being a stay-at-home mom learning Byzantine music to a professional traveling all over the States for clinical research, taking part in trials I always just dreamt to be a part of."
As always we asked our Woman of the Week, Nijmeh Hodaly Curren, to tell you about her morning routine:
"I am a professional morning grouch, I married the most gentle soul who gets the kids up every morning and makes me coffee. I drink a sip of holy water and say my morning prayers while getting my children ready for school, and then I sit in my favorite corner on the couch to read a spiritual book for 10 minutes before I start work. Saying the Jesus prayer multiple times throughout the day, and the Paraklesis to the Theotokos on the plane when I am traveling grounds me and gives me the head space so I can switch between the hats I wear every day."
Thank you, Nijmeh!
