Every Wednesday starts with Doctor's Devotional at 8am; it’s a wonderful time of fellowship with all the doctors. This morning Dr Greene presented the devotional over “Hearing Voices.” He spoke of the many voices we hear in our head throughout the day: God’s, the devil’s, the worlds, our own. How do we know which voices are from God? How do we know we are listening to God’s voice?
In the parable of the sewer it states: “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Mark 4:18-19
Disobedience makes it hard to hear God’s voice; it makes the word unfruitful! Following God is not a one time commitment; we must die to Him each and every day! As Dr Greene stated, “If you get on a train of thought that is not from God, then get off that train.” Daily we must rebuke the devil, give praise to God, spend time in devotion with God, pray aloud, and pray often! Spending time with God makes His voice more apparent to us. We must sharpen on instincts so we can recognize the “Voice of Truth.”
Casting Crowns “Voice of Truth”
Oh, what I would do to have the kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in onto the crashing waves, to step out of my comfort zone. Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is, and he's holding out his hand.
But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The waves they keep on telling me time and time again "Boy, you'll never win, you'll never win.”
But the Voice of truth tells me a different story. The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!" And the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory." Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth.
Oh, what I would do to have the kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors shaking in their armor wishing they'd have had the strength to stand.
But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed. The giant keeps on telling me time and time again "Boy you'll never win, you'll never win."
But the voice of truth tells me a different story. The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!" And the Voice of truth says "this is for My glory." Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth.
But the stone was just the right size to put the giant on the ground and the waves they don't seem so high from on top of them looking down. I will soar with the wings of eagles when I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus singing over me.
But the Voice of truth tells me a different story. The Voice of truth says "do not be afraid!" And the Voice of truth says "this is for my glory." Out of all the voices calling out to me I will choose to listen and believe, I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of truth.
I will listen and believe, I will listen and believe the Voice of truth, I will listen and believe, 'Cause Jesus you are the Voice of truth, And I will listen to you.. oh you are the Voice of truth.
Wednesday’s workday started off like many of our other days with pre-rounds. We start our days off in the Peds unit. We each visit our patients, complete focused histories and physicals, update old complaints, ask about new complaints, come up with assessments and plans, update charts, review vitals, labs, imaging, and meds, etc. Wednesday was a typical morning. Once pre-rounds were finished our team gathered for chai, reviewed questions we had about our patients, and one of the interns briefly presented a medical topic. As rounds were about to start, our “normal” routine was abruptly changed. Keep in mind that the only thing normal about our days here are the routine because something unexpected always happens. The Peds unit is basically divided into 2 large rooms, there are some additional small rooms and we typically have some patients in the ICU. The best way to explain the division is one room is full of children over about 3 yoa, and the other full of children under 3 yoa…although you will see children mixed between both the rooms. On a “normal” day our team, including myself, 2-3 interns, 2 medical students, and 1-2 attendants, would start our rounds in the room with the older children…it has occurred this way every day I have been here except this Wednesday. As we all stood to walk toward the room with the “older” children, one of our attendants, Dr Allysa, suggested we change things up and start in the other room today. She said, “We always save the smaller children for last, let’s start with them today.” Of course none of us cared, so we all walked into the room with the younger children. Our first bed was Von’s patient, a 4 yo girl who presented to the clinic with epistaxis (nosebleed) and shortness of breath on Monday night. This morning Von received the results from the patient’s tests confirming his suspicions of leukemia. At this point all we could do for the girl was to provide palliative care. Dr Allysa said, “We need to make her comfortable. If she needs more oxygen, then give her more oxygen. If she needs something to drink, then give her something. Talk with the mom about her prognosis and about a DNR.” Although this was Von’s patient, Elijah spoke the native language of the family, so he stayed back to talk with the mom. In the unit each bed is within 2 feet of one another, so we moved to our next patient who was directly next to this girl. Von was presenting the next patient, but I was unable to focus on a single word he was saying. I looked back at Elijah and the mom who were sitting on the bed next to the little girl, and he was in prayer with her. After a few minutes Elijah got up and joined the rest of our team who was still at the next bed. I looked at the mom who was crying, so I walked over to try to console her….I didn’t speak her language, so I started rubbing her back. Elijah joined me and placed a hand on her. The mom looked at her baby girl and noticed she had stopped breathing….she noticed before we did. She began to cry out, looking to the ceiling and screaming words I couldn’t understand. The team rushed back over to check the status of the little girl. Elijah and I stayed by the mom…she was unable to stand and slid to the floor, still crying out. Someone from the team scooped the little girl up and carried her away, another person sent for the chaplain. It all happened so fast. The chaplain came to try to calm the mother, and the nurses assisted the mom to where the child had been taken. Resuscitations were not attempted on the child because the mom had given Elijah a verbal consent for a DNR. We all were aware of the child’s prognosis, but I don’t believe any of us expected for it to occur so suddenly. I fought back tears as we finished the rest of rounds that morning.
It took me awhile to put my thoughts together on this experience. For one I have never seen a child pass. For two I have never witnessed such an abundantly clear example of God’s power. We had no reason to switch our routine that morning, but we did. On our typical day, we would have just started rounding in the opposite room and no one would have been with that child and mother, no one would have gotten to pray with them. Within minutes of Elijah’s prayer over the child and mother, God took the child up to be with Him! It was such a powerful moment to experience! The power of prayer was so vivid! It brings tears to my eyes even now! It was a moment I will always reflect upon! God’s work is mysterious to me, although it is clear and I trust fully in Him!
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