Vocations and Medical Science

I am only 25 years old, and have already had 18 surgeries on my feet, two hernia surgeries when I was very young, sinus surgery when I was in high school, and if you want to count it as a surgery, I had my wisdom teeth removed. If all of those are counted, I have had 22 surgeries, and I'm not quite done yet with my feet.

As far as my feet go, I have had my bones cut through, realigned, pinned, and shaved, and even have screws in some of them. I have so many scars on my feet, they look like they've been through a war. And if life and the fight to be able to walk can be considered a war, then the anaysis is appropriate.

Every time, my bones and my skin have healed well, and after the appropriate recovery time, the bones have worked better than before. It is incredible the strides that medical science has made to allow me to walk, and at the same time, it is very understandable. Why? Because the scientists and doctors working to make this possible have been given the ability to learn and to use their knowledge to help others through their vocations, given by God.

Even if some of these scientists and doctors deny the very existence of God, He uses them in order to bring healing and hope to those who otherwise would have none. I'll give an example:

Who do you think started and is responsible for funding much of the Shriners' Hospital at its various locations throughout the US? You realize that all of the work they do and the help they offer to their patients is done free of charge, right? The organization responsible is none other than the Masons. Masons aren't Christians, but they help Christians all the time. They also help Buddhists, Hidus, Muslims and any other group that seeks help from the Shriners' Hospital.

Vocations are interesting things: You don't have to be a Christian in order to help a Christian. You don't have to believe in God in order to be used by Him to help those who do believe in Him. Of course, I think it helps your vocation if you are a Christian. Anything and anyone can benefit from being a Christian, the biggest benefit, of course, being eternal life in Heaven.

Anyway, to avoid total digression, God uses even those who do not know (or even defy) Him for the good of those who do. That is how a group such as the Masons, who fund and largely support the Shriners' Hospital, can be used and given a vocation that helps people like me. Without the help I was given through the Shriners, I would not have been able to walk at all. The doctors who have benefited from the teaching done at those hospitals would not have learned what they did and would not have been in the position to help me or any of the millions of others who have been helped.

Of course, I hope and pray that eventually, these non-Christians one day become Christians. Christ has loved them and has been using them all along, helping them carry out very special vocations, to improve and, in some cases, save the lives of countless people.

Thank God for His compassion and love for ALL of His children, not just those who love Him back.