Wednesday is our dissection day. As always, we don our lab gowns, put on our surgical caps, masks, and lastly, our gloves. What makes this Wednesday extraordinary or much more special than usual is the fact that we were on the topic of thorax2, more popularly known as the heart and lungs. Although it's another wednesday where we get to smell like formalin, cadaver, and mentos all in one, anticipation was building as we entered the anatomy lab. I slipped on an extra pair of gloves, just in case, and braced myself for the overpowering smell of dead bodies and formalin. The first thing I saw when I entered was the maggots lazing around in one of the long tables where a cadaver used to lay. I shook my head and thanked God that our cadaver wasn't fully ravaged by maggots yet. When I got to our John Doe, whom we fondly call 'tikboy', we said a word of prayer and went on to cut open the ribs and clavicle (collarbone), next came the heart and lungs. As we detached the heart from its attachment in the lungs and several blood vessels, we found blocks of blood clots in the arteries. We had to wash them clean before being able to section the heart and study its parts. Now, I might sound so nonchalant about this, but when I saw the heart and actually held it in my hands, it was so overwhelming. It's not everyday you get to hold a real person's heart in your hands, gloved though it may be.
Never in my entire childhood did I dream that one day I'd be able to hold a stranger's heart in my hands, nor did I dream that I'd be brave enough or have the guts to do it. As we studied the parts of the heart, the coronary arteries, ligamentum arteriosum (sounds like something from Harry Potter, eh?!--accdg. to Dr. Gonzalez), and all those other weird medical jargon I can't even pronounce, I marvelled at this special opportunity I had--that once in my lifetime, I could say "hey, I was able to hold a human heart."
“My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Paul was a person in progress—just like you, just like me. As we read through Paul’s letters and compare his earlier writings with his later ones, we can measure subtle but significant changes in his approach to life as he matures. Philippians 4:19 is but one such example. Paul had confirmed over time that God would indeed supply every one of his needs. That Paul had needs should come as no shock. He was in prison. The Philippian believers were concerned about the needs of their patron saint, so they took up a collection—a special love offering—and sent it to Paul via the honorable Epaphroditus (2:25). So overcome with joy was Paul that he wrote them a tender and joyful thank you letter, the book we call Philippians. He was not so overwhelmed by the cash itself as the thought that these dear people loved and cared about him. Because of their sacrificial love toward prisoner Paul, he was able to write, “I am amply supplied” (4:8). God met Paul’s needs. He will surely meet yours. INSIGHT:When we pray about our needs, God may not give us the answer we envisioned, but we can trust it to be the perfect provision.I just read this devotional today, and it was timely too. Just when I was agonizing over the fact that I had soooooooooooooooooooooooooo many projects, reports, quizzes, papers, and things to get done, God said, "I will meet your needs." So simple a statement, yet so powerful. No more worrying about what I need to do tomorrow, next week or next month..just the fact that if I just do my part, trust in Him, He will provide a way and lead me through it, and I can trust that His provision is perfect in every way, even in the timing--it is not early, for us not to boast we did it by ourselves, and it is not late, for Him to fulfill His promise. It is just right on time for us to know that it is God who did this. Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness.
well, hey...here I am again after quite some time :p it really is quite a tedious job keeping a blog.. I'm actually considering deleting my blog..haha but no, I won't do it..simply because I recently added a new game which, hopefully, you will be addicted to.. =) anyway, what's new in my life as a pre-med student? very few, actually, if you consider having the results of my neuroanatomy prelims exam out and me having a fairly mediocre grade at that..but I know I could've done better! argh! if it hasn't been for my carelessness...oh,well...life's like that...as I love to say, cest la vie! what better response than to accept it. I'm almost fearful to see the results of my other exams..anatomy lec & lab, physiology lec & lab, psycs, tsot lec & lab, hbot, scl..........well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we? :p
