Keeping the Faith

Today, I was walking with one of my good friends and he and I were discussing our current situation. We are both ending our time at Drexel University and earning our Master's Degrees in May. While we are equally excited, we are both met with the fear of not having a next step. He and I are currently waiting to hear back from our respective schools of choice but have not received anything other than rejection notices from various schools. While rejection does hurt it will not derail our dream.

But it is frustrating to wait and hear nothing while the days pass and you hear about others getting their acceptances. My friend began to feel as though it was 'game over' if he did not get in. I understand his frustration but I refused to share his doubt. I encouraged him that we can and will be able to make it into school. And that while we are unsure of what the next step is, we will become two of the greatest doctors the world has ever known! So while I wait I will not be idle. However, I am thinking about what else can I learn, how I can grow and perhaps it is God telling me that I need more time to grow or there are somethings I should do first. I know that I will keep my faith, and while there will be hard times to face (which is hard to imagine facing anything harder than thesis, med school and boards) I have peace in knowing that God is on my side. My pastor once quoted the Bible and said, "A weapon formed shall not be able to prosper..." But he also declared that the weapon will get formed but it will not destroy us (Shout out to Bishop McKissick Jr and the Bethel family!). So with that in mind I will keep my faith and keep moving forward. Working like everything depends on me, Praying like everything depends on God.

Ill end on this...

"Consider it pure joy my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything....Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him."
James 1:2-4,12

Doc Q

The Root of all Evil

Today I read two intriguing and thought provoking articles. The first was about a former classmate of mine from my undergraduate university. He had a an opportunity to make money with his small one man travel business. He was set to make a nice commission on a trip he planned for a group of students. However, he wanted more. He decided to take the money and invest it. His investment didn't pay off and he panicked. Which is understandable but he allowed his one bad decision to fuel more bad decisions leading to wire and credit fraud. That lead to him ending up on a federal indictment and being sentenced to 33 months in a Federal Penitentiary. It is sad to see a young man go through this and end up with a record. I do hope he is able to turn his life around and make something better of himself. But what caused him to do this? The love of money. The hunger for more and more money. Greed, the love of money is the root of all evil. While I am sure this young man did not intend to do wrong, he allowed the love of money to blind him and make poor choices.

The other story I read was about a man who was a multi-millionaire who started out with very poor beginnings. He spent a good portion of his life in pursuit of material things. He realized that his possessions and money did not make him happy. He realized what many of us fail to realize, is that money does not buy happiness. So he is giving away every last cent and going to live out a simple life at a bed and breakfast. He is in pursuit of something that money can't buy, which is peace of mind and true inner happiness. I believe his philosophy is something we all can learn from.