Lenten Reflections, Part I - Ash Wednesday

So as part of my Lent this year, I hope to write a brief spiritual reflection here each evening, possibly interspersed with updates from my rotations.  Tonight, at the very beginning of the Lenten season, I just wanted to spend a couple of words on the next few weeks.

Lent itself is a time of prayerful reflection, a time to look deep within our own souls.  I think, if we're being honest with ourselves, most of us (including me) will find a host of imperfections, blemishes, and sins.  There will almost inevitably be something within ourselves that we find repugnant, disturbing, and hateful.  In fact, it may be so distressing that we choose to ignore it...you know, the old "I can't see you so you can't see me" mentality.  It's too painful to admit that such flaws could exist within ourselves, so we just never drag them into the light, never allow ourselves to contemplate and deal with them.  And in many ways, Lent exists precisely for that purpose -- to remind us to examine the dark corners of our hearts, minds, and souls and to allow them to be illuminated by the incalculable love of Christ on the cross.  It is a time for us to open ourselves, to surrender all we have and all we are, to the One who created us and sent His Son to redeem us.  It's a tough journey, there's no denying that, and it seems even more daunting looking at the path stretching into the future from Ash Wednesday.  But He reminds us that we'll never be alone on that path; He'll be with us every step of the way.

Anyhow, that's all for tonight.  More reflections tomorrow.  Till then, peace and God bless!

Perspective

It's awfully easy to stress out about life. Sometimes it seems like there's an endless parade of obstacles and problems, each attempting to make life as infernally difficult as possible. There are classes to study for, abstracts to write, posters to assemble, FAST gatherings to plan, clinical sessions to attend...and of course, the pink elephant that no medical student wants to talk about -- post-graduation debt. There are millions of things to do and not nearly enough time to do them all. And so we (and by "we" I mean "I") worry about all of these things that seem so important.

And then I see something like this. I found a link to it in a blog written by another medical student, and it puts into shockingly clear perspective just how monumentally unimportant most of my worries are. Perhaps more significantly, it reminds me of just how little I've done, just how little I've sacrificed, to make the world a little better for the rest of God's children. It reminds me of why I've chosen this path, and of why it's important for me to shut up with the complaining and work to learn as much as I can. I've been blessed beyond all belief; thus, my vocation for the rest of my life will be to be a blessing to others by the grace of God. Maybe, just maybe, it's time for me to stop being a wallflower and start making a difference.

On a not-totally-unrelated note, I also found an article that some people might find interesting. Take a second to check it out.

Peace and God bless!