I believe it’s possible to say that the oldest natural activity is nursing! The word nurse is derived from the Latin, nurture, meaning “to nourish.” An expectant mother naturally nurses (nourishes, feeds, enfolds) her unborn child. When the child appears, it’s natural for him or her to be nursed gently by the mother. In fact, the child naturally seeks the mother’s nourishment. The Bible speaks with great tenderness of nursing: “. . . thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side” (Isaiah 60:4). “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you” (Isaiah 66:13).
With their natural tendency to protect, support, restore, resuscitate, and uplift, women were needed early on to fulfill a drastically needed role in caring for the sick. For example, during the Revolutionary War in 1775, Major General Horatio Gates reported to Commander-in-Chief George Washington, “The sick suffered much for want of good female Nurses” (army.mil/women/nurses.html).
The Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, cited the selfless accomplishments of an English woman, Florence Nightingale, who came to prominence through her aid to the sick and wounded during the Crimean War in 1853 (see Science and Health, p. 385). She was known as “The Lady with the Lamp” because she made her rounds during the dark of night.
