Christian Vocation: Barry Wu, Medical Doctor

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

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.

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.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.