So good morning, and thank you all for getting up and getting here on time.
I was excited when Greg invited me to participate in this Sunday school class,
not only to share what the Lord is teaching me through my work,
but more importantly to learn from you what the Lord is teaching you through your work.
Greg gave us, those who are participating, some three instructions.
First, that we're going to finish by 9.45 so we all can get to church on time.
Second, to leave some time for questions.
And third, to base our discussion on scripture.
So I thought I'd give an outline of our time and really focus our time together on Paul's first letter to the Corinthians
about so whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Amen.
So allow me to tell you how we're going to divide up our time together into three different sections.
First, I'm going to share with you a little bit about my background and training
and learning about the second commandment, that you shall have no other gods before me.
Second, how the Lord has provided ways for me to integrate my faith into practice
and the importance of praying, praying without ceasing.
And finally, particularly important on passing on, as Paul wrote to those in the Philippians to encourage them,
as my teachers have encouraged me, I hope to be encouraging the people I am involved with teaching
in whatever you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.
Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.
So before beginning, allow me just to share a short prayer.
So Lord, thank you for this day that you've made.
We'll worship and glorify you in this day.
Thank you for being the one who has knit each one of us in our mother's womb
and know each one of our days before they come to being.
So we thank you for this day and we say praise the name of Jesus.
Amen.
And pray that the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts would be holy and acceptable to you,
for you are our rock and redeemer.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.
So in order to tell you about my work, I need to tell you a little bit about my background.
So I'm of Chinese descent and my parents were born in China
and my dad became a believer in China when his older brother was sick.
And none of the Chinese doctors or herbal medicines could help them.
But there were missionaries there.
And the missionaries prayed.
The house shook.
And his brother was healed.
So that's how my dad became a believer in China from missionaries who prayed.
And my mom met my dad here stateside.
I'm the middle of three children.
And so grew up in a Christian home.
But I would say it wasn't until I was in high school that when I accepted Jesus as my Lord,
and it was when I was a junior in high school, that my dad was diagnosed with lung cancer.
He was a non-smoker.
He lived about eight months with lung cancer.
And during that time, it was how he lived out his faith that really spoke volumes to me.
He was more concerned with his wife and his three young children than himself.
He would be praying for us.
And then so when he died, I know his prayers were answered because my mom was not working at the time.
And she had to raise three children just through high school and college and all that.
So it was really the Lord who really sustained us during that time.
Before he died, as any high school or young person would do, is they would ask their parent or a friend,
you know, what, I don't know what I want to do, what kind of career I want to have, what kind of job to do.
And so I know, I knew my dad was dying, so I wanted to get his advice before he died.
And I said to him, well, you're a chemical engineer.
So I was thinking about engineering school.
You know, everyone talks about medicine, maybe medical school.
Or maybe, you know, we go to church, so maybe going to divinity school.
So, you know, engineering, medicine, divinity, I really don't know what I should do.
And remember, as a high school student, you're doing those SATs and you're applying for college.
You just don't know.
And I remember him telling me, Barry, think about what your passion is, where your heart is.
And so that when you're doing whatever vocation the Lord calls you to do, it's not a nine-to-five job.
It's something that is a calling, that really, you know, it's your passion.
So he died.
I, of course, went to engineering school, to think about that.
I majored in chemical engineering at RPI and then went to medical school.
And went to the University of Rochester and then came to New Haven nearly 30 years ago for my training in residency in medicine.
So as you know, in training in medicine, you do high school, then you do some undergraduate, then you do four years of medical school,
then you do three or four years of more of residency.
So it's a long journey of training.
And during that training, you know, there have totally been bumps in the road.
And it's really during those bumps the Lord really has been teaching me.
And during medical school, I worked hard to get into medical school.
You have to get a certain grade point average and you have to do whatever interviews.
So I worked really focused getting into medical school.
It was really hard to get into medical school.
My first year in medical school, I came to a real crisis of self-doubt.
I couldn't memorize all these things.
It felt overwhelming.
And it was during that time the Lord was telling me and asking me,
you know, Barry, I know, you know, you've gotten to this point.
Are you willing to give up being a doctor?
Are you willing to give up medical school if I so called you?
And until I could answer that question, and until I could answer that question, yes,
I couldn't really continue on in medical school.
So when I, in my mind and soul, really resolved that I could give that up,
things got easier somehow.
So I got, the Lord guided me through medical school.
And then I came to New Haven from Rochester, New York to New Haven.
And coming to New Haven, it was the first time, like Ben's just here about three months.
I felt totally helpless.
I had no friends.
I had no church.
I was in a job.
I felt totally incompetent, you know, and I was clinically depressed.
I was having suicidal thoughts during internship.
I was swearing underneath my breath because I was so angry.
I called my widowed mom in Rochester.
She was so worried about me.
She called psychiatrists in New Haven for me.
But being a guy and being an Asian guy, I was too proud to call for help.
So I know, speaking to you and standing before you, it was only God who carried me through that internship year.
And things got better.
I got involved in a local church.
Many of you had been there before, West State New Life Evangelical Free Church.
I got involved in Bible studies.
And really, that community really helped support and sustain me, encouraged me.
And it really taught me the importance of Christian community, to be able to uphold one another through joyful times as well as difficult times.
And reading this book, Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller, really has been enlightening.
And there's a section in there that they talk about Martin Lloyd-Jones.
And I was interested in learning that his book is up there about the Sermon on the Mount, but learned that he was a physician.
He was a physician first by the age of 26.
By the age of 28, he was a pastor.
He was a Protestant minister in Wales, England, and wrote these amazing reference books that we can use now.
And he taught in one of the classes about what it is like.
So you're born, you know, medicine can be so encompassing, engulfing you, that on your epitaph or on your tombstone, it could say,
Born Barry, died a doctor.
And really, is that how you want to live your life, to just be known by whatever this occupation that's just so temporary?
And it's just a reminder to all of us that there are times he calls us to different things.
And we're not identified.
One of the things the Lord's teaching me is that you're not identified by your occupation or what you do.
You're identified being a son or daughter of Jesus Christ.
And so it's being a reminder of those things.
And that's why I thought it was important for me to learn not to have idols, whether that's idols of an occupation,
idols of doing well in an occupation, or pride, and have no idols.
You shall have no other gods before me.
So that's section one.
I'll pause to see if you have any comments or questions before bringing up to section two.
Yes?
Did you mentally decide to become a doctor and have a residency program?
I did.
I mean, I did my medical school training, and then I did residency here in New Haven.
What was your residency?
In internal medicine.
And did you like that?
Not their first year.
But, you know, God really helped carry me through, and, you know, I've enjoyed it since that time.
I would say, though, honestly, I've enjoyed parts of it.
So, you know, you have good days and bad days, as everyone does.
Okay.
So, in my training, though, I really didn't integrate my faith into practice.
And so, moving on to this section section, really about integrating faith into your practice.
It really wasn't until I was at New Life Evangelical Free Church that one of the former elders, Jack Knudsen, led a Bible study, similar to this one, about God's sightings.
And basically looking for God in everyday things.
Knowing that things don't happen by coincidence, but by his perfect will.
I would say for myself, I would define myself prior to that Bible study as a Christian on Sunday and a doctor Monday through Saturday.
So, I identify myself separate and in silos instead of really integrating what it is to be a believer that's a physician.
Right.
And so, that really helped open my eyes and think about ways to integrate faith into practice.
And so, then thinking about in, even now in medical school, we're teaching students to really, when you're talking about what's wrong with you, I hurt my knee, what other medical problems do you have, what medicines, do you smoke, do you drink, any drugs, but also to get a spiritual history.
Is faith important to you?
Does it really influence your decision?
What is your faith?
And really kind of treating the patient as a whole instead of just their physical or the emotional depression.
But their spiritual, assessing their spiritual needs.
You can actually ask that question.
You're asking.
No.
You can ask them, what is your faith?
You know, is it, is, is, is, they use faith, they use religion, I use faith.
Is, is important to you?
And so, really getting to know, because, you know, when they do surveys, the majority of Americans have some sort of faith.
And that their faith really does influence their decision making.
How aggressive you want to be with certain treatments, what you want.
So, really knowing the, the person is really important in taking care of that individual.
So, I'm not just treating pneumonia.
I'm treating Henry with pneumonia.
So, that's a more recent.
I would say, ever since my, since my residency training, this has been evolving.
So, you know, I think it's great to be able to have secular world be more enlightened about the importance of spiritual needs.
So, I think that's important.
So, one of the earliest patients, you know, so I did my training.
It wasn't until really after residency that I was in practice, taking care of patients, really integrating faith into practice.
And so, I remember a patient, Rebecca, from South Carolina that I met 4th of July weekend.
And she was from South Carolina, which is kind of remarkable.
I'm talking about her today when all this flore and storm is.
And that would be an example of like a God sighting.
I don't think it's kind of a coincidence that's happening.
So, this storm is happening in Florence.
There was a storm in Rebecca's life.
She was a custodial worker at Yale.
She had 12 children, 28 grandchildren, and 25 great-grandchildren.
So, I remembered her because of her remarkable history.
And she was from South Carolina, coming to New Haven on the 4th of July to visit her grandson, who lived up here.
And she wasn't feeling well, no appetite, and came into the hospital.
And in talking to her, she had some pain on her right side.
And when you felt her, examined her, she had a mass on the right side around where her liver is.
And then, finding out a little bit about her, I learned that she sang in the choir, was part of her mission board.
And so, I asked her, after I talked to her and examined her, would it be okay to pray with you?
And she said, yes.
So, we pray, dear Lord, I know that Rebecca has to have this biopsy.
Guide the doctor's hands.
Pray for your protection over her.
And we pray, your healing hand upon her, and that your will be done.
So, she went through the biopsy.
The biopsy was done without any complications.
But two days later, it was found out that it was cancer.
And that the cancer had spread all over.
It was metastatic cancer.
And given her age and her other medical history, there really wasn't much to do.
So, this is the 4th of July weekend.
And telling her that, she says, well, I don't know how much time I have, but what time I have, I'd rather spend with my family.
So, we made arrangements to get her home to her son's home here in New Haven.
And so, I thought, well, okay, well, that's great.
So, that was on like a Friday.
So, then the weekend came.
And on the weekend, I start getting several calls from the visiting nurse.
That Rebecca's having more pain.
That she's having fever.
That her urine output, the amount of pee she's making is less.
And then, as a doctor, I start second-guessing myself.
I said, well, maybe we discharged her too soon.
Maybe we should have kept her in the hospital.
And so, I had this dilemma of what to do.
And kept on getting phone calls over the weekend.
And I learned that she lives in a part of New Haven that's not the safest area in New Haven.
The visiting nurses don't go there after hours.
I've never really did a home visit before.
And I had a nice, you know, Honda Civic, whose radio had already been stolen two times during my residency.
I didn't really want it stolen a third time.
But oftentimes, one hears a still, quiet voice.
And just felt that I should go visit her.
So, take my Honda Civic.
Drive it to the unsafe part of New Haven.
And walk in.
And walk into this home.
And I am greeted by her husband of 65 years.
And he's there.
He came up from South Carolina.
Knew that she was not doing well.
Rebecca was lying in bed in a room.
And the visiting nurse, who I don't know, just came by.
And so, we're just talking.
And I notice a Bible in the room.
And so, I said, oh, there's a Bible.
There's a Bible here.
Not knowing the visiting nurse's faith,
I asked the husband,
and Rebecca, would it be okay to pray?
And he said, yes.
So, we held hands and prayed.
Pray, Lord, your comfort, your peace,
your strength to the family.
And I say, in Jesus' name,
that the husband of 65 years goes,
and Lord, I am satisfied.
Thank you for being with us.
Take her over the River Jordan to you, Jesus.
So, we say amen.
The visiting nurse says, thank you for that prayer.
Again, I don't know what her faith background was.
I go home.
And two days later, we're in this,
we have a medical school fellowship group
called the Yale Health Professionals Christian Fellowship Group.
And so, during this Bible study,
we're singing that song, you know,
be not afraid, I go before you always.
Come, follow me.
And I will give you rest.
And after we sang that song,
I get a page that Rebecca had gone over the River Jordan
to be with Jesus.
So, what did Jesus teach me during this time?
The importance of prayer,
the importance of finding out the faith,
spiritual histories of patients and families,
the importance of that he is in control.
Remember, I, as a doctor, I want to be right.
I want you to come to me because, you know,
I'm credible.
But I'm not God.
And he has greater things beyond what we can imagine
and do than what we think.
So, the importance of trusting the Lord
and not trusting ourselves.
So, the importance of pray without ceasing,
as Paul tells the church in Thessalonians.
Pray without ceasing.
So, I'll pause there
and see if any questions or comments.
Yes.
Mary, is there ever a bit of time
when you've said,
would it be alright if I pray for you?
And someone has said,
no, I prefer you not to.
Is there,
can you talk a little bit about
maybe those situations?
Yes.
How do you handle that?
So, always,
you're in a power thing.
So, you don't want to take advantage of people
and you want to respect their dignity.
And so, always asking permission.
And of the times I've asked people
to pray with people,
only one person said no.
Of all these,
almost 30 years.
Only one person says,
oh, then you just be gracious.
Okay, that's fine.
Just pray silently.
You know, silently.
Yes.
So, I have a question.
I'm in a job,
and I imagine some of the people
I've got a lot of opportunities
that present themselves
where I could,
in a natural way,
just say,
hey, can I pray for you?
So, I'm curious, like,
for me,
I think a lot more about
praying for people
just generally,
like people that I've met,
people that I've encountered.
And I'm curious
what your experience has been like
with that,
where you're praying for people
that you're encountering,
but not necessarily
with them right now.
Yeah, I mean,
I think you pray,
it says pray without ceasing.
So, you know,
whether it's out loud
or silently,
you could be praying
all the time,
whether the person's aware
or not aware.
But I would say,
I would say probably
more often than not,
people want you to be,
really appreciate
if you do pray for them.
And this book also points out
a very interesting article.
One of the big journals
we have is called,
medicine is called
the New England Journal
of Medicine.
And this is an article
published 14 years ago
by Dr. Jerome Groupman.
So we won't have enough.
I have enough.
I think I have enough.
You have more?
It says,
God at the bedside
is the title of this article.
Jerome himself
is of Jewish background.
And he's writing about
a dilemma he faced
of a 71-year-old patient of his
with metastatic cancer.
He's Jewish.
This woman believes in God.
And every time
she comes to see him,
she says,
God is good.
Thank God.
God is good.
And then one day
he is left with the dilemma.
Dr. Groupman,
will you pray for me?
So what do you do
in that situation?
Well,
I believe the Lord
gave Dr. Groupman wisdom.
He did what Jesus does often.
When we ask Jesus a question,
Jesus gives us a question.
Right?
He often taught
by asking questions.
So he
said to his patient,
Anna,
what is the prayer you want?
Can I pray for you?
What's the prayer you want?
And Anna's reply,
pray for God
to give my doctors wisdom.
And with that,
Dr. Groupman could say amen.
So oftentimes,
we think we know
how to pray for someone.
But oftentimes,
it's good for them
to share with you
or, you know,
what is it exactly
you want to pray for?
Right.
And I would say
in caring for patients
as a whole,
I wasn't going to mention this,
but,
is that a lot of,
not all,
but some physical,
emotional illnesses
are related
to spiritual things
going on.
Unconfessed sin
or need for reconciliation.
That in medicine,
we want to treat
the underlying problem.
We just don't want
to treat the symptom.
We want to treat
the problem.
So really kind of learning
and seeing
where the problem is
sometimes is,
is very important
to know the patient
as a whole.
Yes?
I think in the book,
wasn't there a discussion
that was about
the medical patients
with an elder,
with a mentor of his,
and I believe
that the number
was perhaps
that only 30%
of medical conditions
are completely unrelated
to spiritual
or emotional issues.
Yeah.
Okay, that is correct.
You're wondering
if they did a survey
nowadays
what the numbers
would be
because from my
human experience,
you know,
stress is to me
even more now
than ever before.
And so,
you know,
where do we find
our source of strength?
Where do we find
our source of peace?
And where are the answers?
And for me,
the answers are
in the creator
of the world,
of heaven and earth.
And the answers
are in the Lord.
And I shared
with some of you
that we were fortunate
this summer
to go to a Christian camp
in the Adirondacks
called Camp of the Woods.
And there,
lost Solomon spoke.
He's a Jewish believer.
And he spoke about
the importance
of the Bible.
And he talked
about 2 Corinthians 3.16.
All scripture
is God-breathed,
useful for teaching,
correcting,
rebuking,
and training
in righteousness
so that the servant
of God
will be
thoroughly
prepared
for all
good works.
So where
will we get
to know
how to do
good works
and where
will we learn
the knowledge
to do those
good works?
It's not
memorizing
the New England
Journal of Medicine.
It's reading
the Bible,
the source
of all truth.
So pause there.
Any questions
or comments
before we go
to our third section?
Yes?
You spoke
about being
a Christian
on Sundays
and doctor
Monday through
Saturday.
At what point
did you stop
thinking that way
and say,
well,
I'm a Christian
doctor or say,
well,
I'm a Christian
and I'm a doctor?
At what point
did you?
Yeah.
So it was
at a church service,
a Sunday school service
20 plus years ago
where I learned
about God sightings,
really learning
how to integrate
faith into practice.
and I would say
it's remarkable
we're having
this class.
Similarly,
it's kind of
reminding
and sharing ideas,
we're all in
different kind of
fields and stuff,
of how you
live out your faith.
And really,
you know,
we are,
again,
sons and daughters
of the Lord
Jesus Christ
first
before I'm
a husband
or a father
or a doctor.
Right?
That's our number
one identification.
I was at a service
in Cherrydale Baptist Church
in Virginia once
and I remember
the pastor sharing
again about a tombstone.
He says,
what's on a tombstone?
Oftentimes,
it's the year
you were born
and the year
you died.
And what's
in between
the year you're born
and the year you died?
A dash.
So he said,
make the most
of your dash.
So,
make the most
of your dash.
So,
I have a question
on this section.
So,
recognizing
that there are
so many
spiritual issues
or broken relationships
or so forth,
is that something
that's also
part of your practice
that as you're going
to make your diagnosis
praying for wisdom
or insight
that you'll be able
to perceive
things that might
be relevant?
Yeah,
I mean,
I battled that,
actually,
because,
you know,
we're so surrounded
by secular culture
and I'm surrounded
by secular culture
and I'm surrounded
by,
you know,
knowledge and people
who have photographic
memories and up
with the latest literature.
So,
you think,
well,
maybe I've got to,
you know,
spend more time there
when the actual truth
is you need,
you can't have
one or the other,
actually.
You kind of be,
you need to be competent
but you also need to know
where that comes from.
So,
so finding the balance
and I think it is,
I do believe
if we ask the Lord
for wisdom,
he'll give it to us.
But I,
like you point out,
I think we need
to be asking
and whether I ask enough
or I don't ask enough.
And so,
one of the things
I was going to get to
and I'll share now
is that I think
as,
as we will all be
patients at some time.
So,
some practical applications
is that
if your healthcare provider,
whether that's a doctor,
nurse,
nurse practitioner,
PA,
or whatever,
is taking care of you
and they don't ask you
about your faith background,
you can tell them
about your faith background
and you can ask,
please pray for me.
And you could be
the minister
or missionary
to that doctor
or healthcare provider.
would it be okay
if I prayed for you?
If the patient
and patients
have prayed for me,
I am so encouraged.
Right?
So,
you know,
and if the doctor
looks stressed,
so I look stressed sometimes,
doctor,
don't worry.
God is in control.
Let me pray for you.
So,
you know,
God is,
kind of does things
upside down.
You might have gone,
you thought,
to get taken care of
or get help
when in fact
God was sending you
to help that person.
Thank you.
Yes?
So,
a few years ago,
I heard
Larry Poland,
who was head
of the Master Media.
You might be familiar
with that organization.
They visit
CEOs of
media companies
and
actors
and actresses
and so on.
And when they go in,
that's what he asks them.
Do you have
a personal faith?
And it's a very,
it's not an
upsetting question
to people.
You know,
they stop
and think about it.
Right.
And the other thing
is how Francis Collins
became a believer.
A woman
he was taking care of
in the hospital
asked him
something like that.
Yeah.
Are you a believer?
Or what are you
trusting in
when you die?
Right.
And praise God
for that patient
that asked him that
because Francis Collins,
if you know,
he's the head
of the Genome Project.
So he's the head
of researching
all the genes,
the former,
maybe current,
head of the NIH.
Former head
of the National
Institute of Health.
So praise God
for that patient
who asked
that question
to him.
And oftentimes
it's good
when you're
relating with patients
or people,
instead of
telling them
something,
is asking
them something,
asking the question.
So finally,
integrating
faith and teaching.
So part of
my particular
profession
is teaching.
And I
have learned
so much
from my teachers.
And one of my
teachers
has been
Dr. Jim Jekyll.
He is
the former
professor
in the
School of
Public Health.
So two
decades ago,
he gave
the commencement
speech at Yale.
So I was,
you know,
recently came
to Yale.
And here
he is
in a public
forum
with graduating
students,
families,
people of all
different faiths.
And his
talk
was on
scripture.
He says,
allow me
to kind
of share
you some
words.
In Proverbs
29,
18,
it says,
where there
is no
vision,
the people
perish.
And it's
important to
have kind
of vision
and goals
as you
move forward
from here.
But it was
the first
time I
heard
scripture
being
quoted
in a
public
forum.
And I
think that
was just
a reminder
of preaching
the word
in whichever
field,
sharing the
word.
My words
will go
away,
but the
Lord's
words will
last
forever.
So preaching
the word
in whatever
field you
are.
I remember
he now
is battling
his older
age,
battling
some memory
issues and
stuff.
But I'm
thankful I
know that
the word
of God
is written
on his
heart.
And so
my knowledge
of medicine
is passing,
but I pray
and I pray
for my
six-year-old
son that
the word
of God
is written
on his
heart.
More
importantly
than
anything
else,
being an
athlete
or smart
or whatever,
is that
the word
of God
be written
on your
heart.
Another
colleague
of mine,
Ernie
Moritz,
who has
been chairman
of medicine
at the
Hospital of
St.
Rayfield
three times,
really
distinguished.
He's a
man of
faith
himself.
His father
was a
pastor.
And I
remember
we in
medicine
train a
lot of
people.
So
oftentimes
after
medical
school
you did
this
thing
called
residency.
And at
the
Hospital
of
St.
Rayfield
we got
residents
from all
over the
world,
Africa,
Asia,
South
America,
all over,
with
different
faiths.
And at
the end
of the
year we
have a
celebration,
an end
of the
year party.
And I
always remember
him at
the end
of the
year party
as we
are gathered
before the
meal.
Dr.
Moritz will
come up and
says,
well, thank
you all for
being here.
I know we
have many
different
faiths
represented in
this room,
but allow
me to
share a
Christian
prayer.
And then
he says
grace for
the meal.
And again,
it's just
another
opportunity
of
witnessing,
not being
generic,
you know,
God,
general
God,
but God,
Father,
our Lord
Jesus Christ
and the
Holy Spirit,
we pray to
you.
So it's
good that
he's clear
who he is
and who
he's praying
to.
And then
you think
about ways,
you know,
I learned
from them
of ways
to integrate
into my
teaching.
So I
often say,
you know,
I forgot,
God created
the world
in how many
days?
Six days.
What did
he do on
the seventh?
Rested,
he's seventh.
So God
created the
world in
the sixth
day and
rest on
the seventh.
So let
me go over
with you
now the
seven steps
of reading
EKGs.
So kind
of weave
it in.
Right?
Dr. Jekyll
would say,
you know,
which is
the first
published
cohort
study?
Where in
the literature
is the
first published
cohort
study?
So it's
in the
Bible,
in Daniel,
with Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Abednego,
when the
king says
that they
don't want
to eat
the food,
right?
And they'll
be fine,
and the
other group
did eat
the food,
so that's
a cohort
study.
And the
first published
cohort study
is in the
Bible.
And again,
weaving it
into your,
you know,
being very
creative of
ways to
kind of
weave it
in.
And so,
we have
six minutes
left.
So in
teaching,
I told you
about this
medical
fellowship
group,
Yale Health
Professional
Christian Fellowship
Group,
which has been
around now,
I think,
over a quarter
century.
And it
began before
here,
a church in
North Haven
was praying
for a fellowship
group to
begin.
And that
answer to
prayer has
been this
group that's
been meeting
over a quarter
century on
campus.
So they have
Bible studies
and, you
know,
teach people
how to
integrate faith
into practice.
And one
of the
students that
came to the
group one
day,
her name
was Allison.
And Allison
is a third
year Yale
medical student.
And she,
after,
during your
training,
you have to
do these
things called
clerkships.
You go first
time taking
care of
patients.
So it's a
really stressful
time.
And she
heard about
scripture,
she heard
about praying,
but hadn't
really practiced
that.
And one of
her first
patients was
Larry.
Larry was
at the
VA hospital.
He was
45 years
old.
He was
a nuclear
submarine
tech.
And he
couldn't do
the designated
one-mile run
in the
designated time.
He was
more tired
than normal.
He came
in, he
found to
have a
really high
white blood
cell count,
was diagnosed
with leukemia.
And so she
is talking to
him for the
first time,
you know,
tell me about
yourself,
and, you
know,
what's your
faith,
and gets
the history
of the
patient.
And before
it ends,
she says,
may I pray
for you?
And Larry
says, yes.
So she
prays for
her.
Larry,
pray your
help,
help the
doctors,
grant them
wisdom,
amen.
After she
says amen,
Larry starts
praying for
her.
Help
Allison,
this rotation
is very
hard,
help her.
And she
begins.
So the
next day,
we go to
the VA,
we're walking
around,
and Larry
comes up
to me
and gives
me a
big hug.
Thank you
so much
for sending
Allison.
And on
his own,
he says,
you know,
I feel
like I'm
in Daniel,
you know,
in Daniel,
you know,
Shadrach,
Meshach,
and Lydagel
were in
the fiery
furnace,
but they
would not
bow down
to any
god.
And I
feel like
I'm in
the fiery
furnace,
but I
do not
fear,
because I
know the
Lord is
in control.
so in
summary,
so whether
you eat,
drink,
whatever you
do,
doctor,
worker,
educator,
do it
all for the
glory of
God.
Remember,
don't make
the job
itself an
idol.
Remember the
importance of
praying,
and remember
it's a
passing down.
We're here
on this
journey,
a temporary
time,
but really
to pass
what you
have been
given,
how much
we've been
given.
You know,
Richard
Gilardi at
West Haven
always said,
you know,
how are you
doing,
Richard?
He would
always say,
I'm doing
better than
I deserve
to.
And,
you know,
I am doing
better than
I deserve
to.
And it's
only by
God's
grace and
mercy.
Any
questions or
comments?
So,
allow me to
pray.
So,
Almighty and
Eternal Father,
draw our
hearts to
you,
guide our
minds,
fill our
imagination,
control
our will,
that we
may be
wholly
yours,
utterly
dedicated
to you,
and then
use us
as you
will,
and always
to your
glory and
the welfare
of your
people,
through our
Lord and
Savior,
Jesus Christ.
Amen.
One more
thing before
we finish.
At the
end of
each class,
we want
to pray
for the
person who's
teaching and
for the
people who
are working
in their
field.
So,
if I could
ask John
to pray for
Barry and
for anyone
else here
who's
working in
the medical
field in
one way or
another.
Father, we
thank you so
much that
you have
called a
people to
yourself and
that you have
poured out the
blessings of your
gospel upon
them and you
have called
us to image
you wherever
we go and
also to bear
witness to
you.
We thank you
for Barry,
how you have
placed him in
this critical
place and I
pray that you
would continue
to manifest
yourself to
him such that
he would
recognize each
day that you
were the pearl
of great price
and that he
would order his
days around you.
I pray that you
would continue to
make his time in
your word so
sweet and in it
he would behold
great and mighty
things that would
be of immense
use to him as he
seeks to serve
and love in your
name and diagnose
and treat patients.
We thank you for
the courage and
the love that you
have given him
to press on even
in contexts that
might seem a little
tense or challenging
but that love
breaks through and
taking initiative to
pray with patients
for them, with them
and to receive their
prayers too.
So I pray that he
would just go on from
strength to strength
and others here in
the medical field,
we pray that that
would become a
platform in which
they might be able to
manifest your name
and they might be
able to bring
your healing care
to a hurting
and lost world.
So we thank you
for the encouragement
of these reflections
and may you continue
to be with us
this day.
We ask these things
in Jesus' name.
Amen.