Growing up in suburban New Jersey, I would say that I had a very comfortable upbringing. I was able to experience several missions trips within the United States, had the opportunity to enroll in honors classes, and to cap it all off, I was accepted into the University of Michigan! Looking ahead at the time, after all the experiences and memories that I had compiled during high school, I would say that I had two goals in mind regarding my life direction coming into college: I knew that I liked the health sciences and that I wanted to help people. Like many other fellow classmen, I entered college following the premedicine track, believing that medicine was the fitting way to glorify God in living out these two goals. I was set!
After two full years of undergraduate study, I can now say that I am no longer premed. It's not that I was daunted by the amount of studying needed to score competitively on the MCAT or that fact that I had a traumatic experience in Organic Chemistry (or maybe I did…), but I simply came to the realization that at this time pursuing medicine was simply not the means by which I should be living out my two goals of exploring the health sciences and helping people. They say that God often finds weird ways to work in your life, and He did, somehow causing me to enroll in an introductory Sociology class my first semester freshman year. It was in this class where I was challenged to think of tackling social issues in a different way than before. Because of that class, I have since decided to major in Sociology and have become involved in the Public Health aspect of healthcare and medicine.
As I've been learning more about the health field, I'm coming to see that healthcare opens doors to reach the nations. Outside of the United States, there are a myriad of both developing and developed countries that must deal with very real issues related to infectious disease and health of their populations. On top of that, many of these same nations are countries that within their boundaries have a very pressing need to hear the message of Jesus Christ. In the summer of 2007, I had the privilege of being able to go to China on short term missions project. I remember one Sunday we had arrived in a small city and hiked up to the top of small mountain, where we had our Sunday celebration. As we prayed over the city, I remember thinking to myself - "the view from this mountain is just one of thousands around the world - not a single church, barely any Christians, but God's heart remains the same, and it's for all His people to worship Him."
Looking back at my summer, I feel like God had been working in me even since my high school days. Even during my brief two years of college, I've been redirected away from my own personal ambitions with greater hopes of contributing to something greater. As I've been given glimpses of how I might potentially use my passions to build His kingdom and bring God greater glory, all I can say is that I'm excited for my final two years of college and where I will be led in the future. I lifted up the prayer, "Use me Lord and allow me to be a part of what You are doing around the world" that Sunday, and I have since continued to pray that I would be able to somehow one day take part in spreading God's heart for His people around the world.
Titus 3:3-8
3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.