Writings
For years I have been attempting to “translate” medical complexities into understandable and helpful concepts for my patients and my students. That translation work has often extended outward to nonmedical people, as well. Now I want to extend this teaching to you.
Note: the patients in these accounts are intentionally de-identified. Specific details have been changed to obscure identities, and some persons are composites. These patients presented in the stories are not intended to represent actual individuals and should not be construed as such.
Moving – and Unmoved – in Our Faith
In the sense that God is in control of all things, that he is sovereign over all and has a perfect plan that he will faithfully carry out – we are exactly where we are supposed to be. A providential God has appointed our times and places. He uses the pleasant and the painful for his wise purposes. Every challenge presents a faith opportunity. We must be always on the move – and yet unmoved – in our faith.
A Message at Death’s Door
Harry leans in very close, fixing me with a piercing gaze, and slowly reels off the question:
“Would you like to hear what God said to tell you?”
Sensing God – A New Series
A brain tumor in her left parietal lobe caused a condition of right-sided neglect we refer to as “hemiagnosia.” She experienced a baffling unawareness of her right side, literally failing to recognize it as part of “herself,” leading to complete disregard for half of her own body.
Truth Beyond Change
How quickly scientific truth changes! One of the charges leveled at the scientific community during the pandemic has been how changing its pronouncements seem to be. Of course they are. This is a rapidly unfolding situation. In order for science to be legitimate, it must adapt. Change is a strength of science. But in contrast to that, faith has an even greater strength. The Bible has not changed in 2000 years.
Still Stirred, Not Shaken
History books focus on wars and momentous events because this is when the world undergoes sweeping changes. History moves forward in fits and spasms. The kingdom of God moves forward relentlessly, but maybe not necessarily at a constant pace, either. Because God is sovereign, he is always advancing the reign of his son. But with each jolt of the world – especially with each jolt! – God’s kingdom surges forward.
A COVID Question, Revisited
The adversity of a pandemic provides an occasion to realign our priorities, reorder our loves, and redirect our expectations. Let’s remember to ask “How long?” not only to human experts and leaders, but to almighty God himself. Our faith will be healthier if we place it in a worthy, unchanging object.
The Vaccine Variations, Part 6 (Where?)
How wonderful to think that you are a corporation formed by trillions of little enterprises!
The Vaccine Variations, Part 5 (What?)
Before variolation (and the safer, easier smallpox vaccine developed by Dr. Edward Jenner in 1796) smallpox killed 3 in 10 people it infected and horribly disfigured many who survived.
The Vaccine Variations, Part 4 (How Many?)
The success of a vaccine strategy is based on the concept of herd immunity, so anyone who dismisses the herd immunity principle and says they are relying instead on a vaccine may be throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Most likely, controlling the pandemic through herd immunity will involve some combination of natural immunity (for those who have already been infected) and vaccine-induced immunity to put us as a whole population over the threshold.