Skip to main content

Circumstance, Coincidence

Lately, I've been thinking about Tyler. His desk chair and his electric razor are two things of his that I kept (many people who knew him took items that belonged to him, to put them to use instead of going to trash and to remember him by). Sitting in what was once his chair, I can "visit" with him, in a sense. I know others who knew him are doing the same when they look at pictures, or what they kept of his.

"You are the salt of the earth. Buf if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
--- Jesus, Matthew 5:13-16

This was the foundation for my friend Jack's message at our first Christian Medical-Dental Assoc. medical student group meeting. It was a talk he was giving titled "How to influence Mizzou for Christ," and it was so incredibly moving to be blessed by an hour of talk on what this passage means. The whole time through, I felt like I was being given something Tyler wanted me to have.

Now, I'm cautiously mystical when it comes to circumstance, coincidence, and the like. I'm not sure if people in heaven have any sort of awareness of earthly affairs. My intuition and all my reading in the Bible lead me to say no; the worries of this world and its affairs do not reach those already gone to God. However, I won't discount the possibility that they get the chance to pray before God's throne for us. Or at the very least, God is remembering us for them, and being certain to remind us of those we love who are now with him.

Thanks, Tyler, and thank you, Father.

Popular posts from this blog

The $2000 monkey on my back, deferred

It’s been more than a week, and I think an update is due. Plus, I can give updates on my own status with my heart murmur, having seen the doctor this past Friday. The only thing that has kept me from updating until now is simply laziness (in other words, I was far too busy studying/eating/cleaning/sleeping to actually relax and write). This past Friday I went to the Student Health Center to see my doctor about the previously mentioned murmur recently discovered. My doctor presumed it was most likely an innocent flow murmur, which occurs if a heart valve doesn’t close all the way or in time when the heart beats, allowing blood to flow back the opposite way, and the blood causes turbulence heard as noise. If you’ve ever heard turbulent water flowing over and through rocks and back upstream in eddies in a river, you should get the idea of what a murmur is. It was recommended that I have an echocardiography done, or an ultrasound picture of my heart. This would allow us to see exactly how ...

Pediatrics clinic and becoming compassionate

On Tuesday I had my third day in the pediatrics pulmonary clinic. I am grateful for the experience I have had there. I have been given a lot of practice in interviewing and examining patients that I would not normally have in my APD class. The first time there, I was nervous and avoidant of seeing any patients by myself. This Tuesday, however, I saw several alone before they were seen by the doctor, and prior to being seen by the doctor would return and give him the rundown, a.k.a. presenting the patient. I was getting better even as the morning wore on. One thing challenging about pediatrics is that your patient is often only a third your size with a will and defiance five times your own, making for a formidable adversary. When you ask an adult patient to comply with a request, generally they will without much hesitation. When you ask a child, you are first faced with putting the request in a manner they will understand. Second, you must ask it in a way that they will comply with. Tha...

One "block" laid on a growing foundation

Sometimes you find that you're right where you're supposed to be. That might be the right city or town to live in, or it might be in the right kind of relationship with the right person. Maybe it's as simple as the right place at the right time, and events around you seem to be working solely for your favor. For me recently, it is finding that I am heading in the right direction on that oh-so difficult path known as a career. Wait, I'm going to have to admit something here first. I just spent about 15 minutes coming up with that catchy opening. Don't worry though, at least a third of that time was in retyping it after it suddenly disappeared for reasons known only to...well, no one really. Alright, now back to telling you just where I'm going with this new blog of mine. My name is James, and I'm a first year medical student at the University of Missouri - Columbia. I just graduated college this past May. It was in college, between my first and second years, ...