Lessons from a 4-Year Old

My dad sent me a link to this article on CNN earlier today. He asked me if I'd read it when I got home this evening, and he told me it was sad. I responded by saying I don't like sad things, and I don't like to think about them. He asked me what I was going to do if I became a doctor and had to face these situations every day. Honestly, this is an easy question to answer. I know I will be ridiculously sad. I most likely will tear up and if not on the outside, at least on the inside. I know that it will be hard and there will be times that I will come home and cry myself to sleep at night because it is just so overwhelmingly tough to deal with. BUT. I want to become a doctor and work with the sick because I care about helping them get better, improving their quality of life, giving them the chance to live life just a little bit more fully.

After I hung up the phone, I caved. I went and read the article on CNN. And then I read her mom's blog. What I saw there was a little girl that is so precious to her friends and family. A girl who uses her imagination and refuses to live a dull life even from the confines of her room. I saw a person who thinks quickly and speaks her mind, who has learned to accept her physical limits, and lives a life with a faith far greater than mine. 

Here I am, struggling to get through long days at work, worn out by waiting for what I hope will be interviews that eventually lead down the path toward med school. Trying not to think about the latest rejection email that has found its way into my inbox. Trying to trust that God has a plan and that He is good and far greater than the plans that I try to make for myself. These are my battles right now.

I read one particular prayer that Julianna prayed this past spring:

"Dear God,
I love you.
You are good.
You are very good.
Will you make me strong?"

This. From the heart of a four year old who cannot walk, who cannot breathe on her own, who cannot eat, but trusts God completely and still finds ways to bring joy to the lives of those around her.


God, You are good. Can I love You like this? Will You make me strong too?