A Stone of Hope: Reflections on Freedom

I had the blessing of spending this fourth of July at our nation's capital. While there, we visited the memorial to Martin Luther King, Jr and found it deeply inspiring. Walking through the lighted path that leads to the statue of MLK was like stepping into history itself. Two fountain walls on either side reminded me of the Reverend's timeless words, "We shall not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream." His words of wisdom fill the walls surrounding the striking monument that stands tall in the center with a reminder that from the "mountain of despair" can emerge a "stone of hope."

As I continue to reflect on the meaning of freedom and how we can become its ambassadors, I share King's dream that one day "every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain ... made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight ... the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."

Together. Something about that word stirs my soul. It brings me back to an experience we had in New York City just a few days before arriving in DC.

Not far from Columbia University, we found a pizza shop with slices as large as bed sheets. As we sat down to eat, a man walked in, headed straight for the trash and stuck his hand in it to find lunch. Stunned, I watched him pull out pieces of half-eaten crust and bread sticks and throw them in his bag. Holding back tears, I shared some of our pizza and watched him walk out, still gripping his bag of scraps. He thanked us and, head down, found a spot on the crowded sidewalk for a makeshift table.

I never saw his eyes.

Clearly, some rough places in this man's life have not been made plain, and crooked places remain crooked. The reality of his life is a challenge for me to step out of my comfortable world and remember to meet the needs of the hungry in body, soul, and spirit. For too many, King's dream remains a distant reality. Yet, there is hope for them as long as somebody sees their need and cares enough to do something to meet it.

Truly, no one is free until we're all free. The reality of unmet basic needs like food, shelter, and dignity is a call for all of us to act, to do something, to do our part. By the mountain of our neighbor's despair, we can stand tall as stones and ambassadors of hope.

How can we do it today?

Spread hope!
Dr Mari

"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Galatians 5:6)

"If you can't feed a hundred people, feed just one." (Mother Teresa)

Healing, Faith, and Love: A Father's Day Tribute

In Luke 4:38-44, Peter Simon's mother-in-law was "suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them" (v.38-39).

I love that this healing involves Simon’s own mother-in-law. When Jesus calls us into ministry, we, too, witness the miraculous in our midst, even with our loved ones. I experienced this with my father.

Years ago, I traveled home to Puerto Rico when Dad’s heart began to fail. I found him at the coronary step-down unit after a “small heart attack.” Although he looked strong, I knew how weak his heart had become, its pumping capacity having dropped to a mere fifteen percent. His heart was seriously failing.

Though I’d prayed for Dad for years, I’d never prayed with him—and it was time. When I timidly asked if I could pray with him, his eyes lit up! So I laid my hand on Dad’s chest and prayed like a child who knew this could be her last week with Daddy—even her last hour.

There were no fireworks, no visible angels, and no physical changes that I could detect. But as I prayed, I knew that my father would be okay. And not just his physical heart, but his spiritual heart as well. I gained a complete peace about his physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being that became an anchor for my soul and a comfort to my family and to him. 
 
Papi lived for three more years with an implanted defibrillator and fulfilled many of his lifelong dreams in that short time, including becoming a published author—twice! 

More importantly, I believe that my father gave his life over to Christ. Our last years together were the best in our relationship. We grew closer as he became more alive, at peace, and full of joy. As with Simon’s mother-in-law, Jesus stepped into my house, where He continues to draw my family to Himself one person at a time.

Is there someone in your life that needs you to step out in faith and pray with him or her? Be courageous, have faith, and pray. Our God delights to answer.

Walking by faith,

Dr Mari 

* This is an excerpt from my book, Walking with Jesus in Healthcare. I post it in memory of my father, a humble and sincere man of integrity whose intelligence, creativity, and sense of humor blessed us. ¡Te amo, papi! Recordarte me hace sonreir. (I love you, Daddy! I smile when I think of you.) *

Faith, Love, and Rest: An Author's Journey

Since the publication of my devotional, Walking with Jesus in Healthcare, I've been busy with speaking engagements, travel, interviews, and many opportunities to share my message of hope. In the midst of a healthcare crisis, it's been a tremendous blessing to help so many colleagues regain a sense of meaning and purpose in medicine. As is so often the case when we give of ourselves, there have been many unexpected blessings, such as working alongside inspiring colleagues from whom I've learned and received much encouragement. I am grateful for every one of them.

Of the different experiences I've had over six months, a few stand out. I was invited to speak at the annual conference for the Christian Community Health Fellowship in Atlanta. Dr. John Perkins and Dr. Jeff Trask reminded us that as we care for the poor, we must examine our hearts and allow the relationships to change us -- including any wrong attitudes and misconceptions we may have. They challenged us to be transformed in our thinking and in our actions, which is precisely what Christ wants to do with each of us.

As I shared my story of walking with Jesus in healthcare, a sense of shared purpose in medicine filled the room. After my talk, nurses and doctors pulled me aside to share their stories of caring for people from the heart as well as their struggles in medicine. I prayed with many of these servants in healthcare, wounded healers like me who continually call on God to help them love the people they serve. I left the conference even more inspired than I was when I arrived (and I was already pretty fired up!).

At the Physician Well-being Conference in Florida, I was given the opportunity to read portions of my book to a room full of doctors, and something quite unexpected happened. As I read about Mother Teresa caring for a dying man she found on the streets of Calcutta, I could not hold back my heartfelt tears, and neither could my colleagues. In four years of medical school, three years of residency, and more than sixteen years in practice, I'd never experienced such a corporate healing. It was a beautiful experience that left many of us speechless.

We need more opportunities to grieve the losses and experience the joys of healthcare together, so that our hearts may be lighter as we care for people. In this field, we can't stop for very long. By necessity, we move from room to room with little time to take in, process, and recover from all we just heard from suffering human beings. It's scary to think how many in healthcare are emotional ticking bombs, weighed down by unexpressed (and often unidentified) grief.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus said, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Jesus knows how much we need to stop, rest, and heal.

Since November, I've spoken to nurses, physicians, caregivers, churches, healing ministries, elementary and high school students, and more. I've had precious moments with nurses, therapists, caregivers, and doctors who shared their hearts with me. And I've met authors and colleagues I've admired for years. All amazing experiences, joyful and humbling.

After six months of constant activity, I now have the gift of rest, since my next talk isn't until next month. As I slow down a bit, I continue to ponder the verse that's become so meaningful this year. In Galatians 5:6, the apostle Paul said,

“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”  

As I rest and get re-energized, I recognize that these words hold the key to our calling. All the good works in the world mean nothing if love is not behind them, whether we're writing books, trying to inspire others with our words, serving the poor, or helping someone die with dignity. 

Self-seeking, selfishness, and pride stand ready to derail us. We must love, and genuine love is selfless, like Jesus. It focuses on others.

Our faith finds its truest expression in love. And to love like Jesus, we must know Him. As I rest, I rest in Him, seeking to know Him more, that I may love like Him.

Warmly,
Dr. Mari 

To learn more about my devotional, visit my author site. And thank you to all my readers for your encouragement, support, and love.

 

Christian Community Health Fellowship: Annual Conference

Would you like to be a part of the solution in healthcare? Check out the Christian Community Health Fellowship. This month I'll have the privilege of speaking at their annual conference. I will also get to participate in discussions addressing topics like Developing a Culture of Peace in Your Workplace, How Mission Changes the Culture of a Clinic, and Managing People, Not Programs, among others. CCHF and its members are all about "living out the gospel through healthcare among the poor." I became connected with them through my work at Grace Medical Home.

There is still time to register for the conference. Visit their website for more information. For some inspiration, check out my short post on their website about the joy of abiding in Christ.

Please join me in praying for the conference to ignite our hearts for service, and for all of us to leave committed to walking closer with Jesus in healthcare.

Joyfully,  
Dr Mari

Healing for Broken Hearts: Reflections on the Boston Marathon

I have the blessing of volunteering at Grace Medical Home, a beautiful clinic where we strive to "see to it that no one misses the grace of God" (Hebrews 12:15). The medical director, Dr. Marvin Hardy, is known for a genuine faith made complete through action. He often quotes Robert Pierce, founder of World Vision, whose heart was pierced by the widespread hunger he saw in China. "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God," he later said. World Vision emerged from such compassionate longings, and thousands of children have been adopted and given new lives ... all because of one man's broken heart.

What breaks our hearts? What shakes us to the core? And what does it take for us to get out of ourselves and begin to live for others? 

These questions seem much more poignant this week since the devastating bombings at the Boston Marathon. The surreal events of that day and everything that followed have shaken many of us to the core. It breaks my heart to think of the families who lost loved ones and the people whose lives changed overnight through the physical and emotional injuries they sustained. I continue to pray for them without ceasing; their pain and loss broke my heart.

While sharing with a group of physicians at a conference some weeks ago, I cried. I had not planned on wearing my heart on my sleeve in front of all those people. But while reading a moving story about Mother Teresa's loving care of a man off the streets, my heart broke. And I'm glad. Several doctors in the audience later shared that my vulnerability somehow softened their hearts right then, bringing healing to their own broken hearts over some recent losses. The God of healing was clearly at work, the path for His healing touch cleared through the honest and raw sharing of real pain.

This week, upon hearing the stories of people affected by the Boston Marathon bombings, my heart broke. Somehow, hearing about the loss of an innocent eight year-old boy in Boston brought back the pain of losing my eight year-old cousin to a violent death three years ago. Quite unexpectedly, their pain became my own. Yet, the stories of the selfless deeds that followed the bombings have, slowly, begun a mending work in this wounded heart once more. 

I found the story of Carlos Arredondo particularly moving. Having lost his two sons in the past ten years (one in Iraq, another to suicide), he now lives to advocate for peace. The losses in his life now fuel loving actions toward others. His broken heart seems to heal a bit more with each new selfless act, as when he came to the aid of a man badly hurt in Boston, never leaving him until he'd done all he could do. All he could do.

Empathy made complete through action is a fountain of life, of healing, of hope.

Whether our empathy touches one life or thousands, our broken hearts can be fertile soil for a harvest of compassion that begets new life in someone else's garden. Wounded healers who have the grace to heal in this way become God's instruments of healing, redemption, and life. May we all receive such grace as we face the losses of life, that we may rise above each one, spared the dangers of a hardened heart, and becoming more whole and loving people. For each mended hurt can become a saving balm to heal someone else's wounds ... in time.

Broken to become whole,
Dr Mari

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31 

...by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5

"Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue." (Eugene O'Neill)

On the Edge of What's Next

I need to be honest with you. I have to come clean. Sometimes my posts are ... for me. I'm thrilled you're eavesdropping, of course, and please stay and invite your friends. I love to share with you, always. But writers will write even if no one will read their musings. And sometimes I post what I need to read and see and hear.

This is one of those times. Yes, I admit it, without shame. There!

It's just that, every so often, you're gripped with this sense of rightness. Of being exactly where God wants you. Of standing at the very edge of where He's taking you. And that place, that point in time, will very often take your breath away.

And I'm there. I'm right there. On the very edge of my tomorrow.

It's exhilarating to know you've been faithful, obedient, and patient. And years after His very words were spoken over you, you've taken that next step. And the next one.

Which brings you to that last step before what's next.

I'm so grateful to be there. To recognize it. And to continue to walk with the One who took me by the hand years ago and invited me into His blessed life.

His name is Jesus. He is my Savior. My Lord. My all. To Him I said yes long ago. And last month. And yesterday. And this very moment.

And for Him I long to shine. To reflect His light unto the piercing darkness.

So here's the song I need to hear. To remember. For I know not what tomorrow will bring.

And I want my answer, tomorrow, to still be yes.

Yes, Lord! I want to shine for You!

Thank you for eavesdropping. And for helping me continue to say yes, even as I help you do the same.

Shine!
Dr Mari

They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

Isaiah 61:3

For a bit more sharing with flare, check out My Mission Statement: To Shine. 

 * Photo courtesy of Manuel Díaz Photography. Used with permission. All Rights Reserved.

Risen ... That We May Live!

Here is Luke's breathtaking account of the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ:

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, 

“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! 
Remember how He told you, while He was still with you in Galilee: 
‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified 
and on the third day be raised again.’”  

Then they remembered His words.
 
When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing Him.
 
He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are You the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

“What things?” He asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him; but we had hoped that He was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find His body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said He was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter His glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.

As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. But they urged Him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So He went in to stay with them.

When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, and He disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, 

“Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road 

and opened the Scriptures to us?”

They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when He broke the bread.

While they were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them,  

“Peace be with you.”

 
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at My hands and My feet. It is I myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

When He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in their presence.

He said to them, 

“This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled 

that is written about Me 

in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  

He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. I am going to send you what My Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

When He had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God. (Luke 24:1-53, emphasis added)

May the Lord Jesus Christ open our minds and hearts to understand, believe, and receive these words, letting this Truth change us forever. He IS risen, indeed! Jesus lives, that we may have Life! Hallelujah!

Believe!
Dr Mari 

For more on the joy of Easter, read He is Risen! So What Does that Mean to You and Me?