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Dear HCF,
Welcome back from the long weekend!
We are looking to start our bi-weekly (every other week :)) Sunday book study in March! Our book will be....(drumroll please)....Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller! It's a wonderful read on faith and work, with a very beautiful view of what work is meant to be, a very realistic view of what work actually feels like, and great practical suggestions about how we can live in this in-between period. It encouraged me to apply to business schools last year (Megan)! Details on our first meeting TBD.
Also of note this week, our brothers and sisters at the law school are hosting an event titled "Confident Pluralism: Surviving and Thriving Through Deep Difference" at 12:45pm tomorrow. The speaker is Associate Professor John Inazu and it looks like it will be a great event if you can make it!
Grace and Peace,
Anthony, Jake, and Megan
Weekly Reflection - Dorothy Yang (FTMBA 2016)
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4
In order to help you understand who I am today, I have to share about 2012. 2012 was one of the toughest years for me. I was rear-ended in a car accident that totaled my car. A month later, I discovered my dad was diagnosed with cancer. Three months after that, on the day I was supposed to take the GMAT :), I was hospitalized for a week due to abdominal pain and persistent fever.
The physical and emotional effects from that string of events were stronger than I had anticipated. Even though I was generally characterized as a joyful person, it was especially hard to be joyful when my lower back still hurt from my accident. Each time I went to a different clinician, each one would work with me for a few months and then tell me they didn’t know why I was still in pain – they didn’t know what else they could do to help. I became sick more easily too. I was at a point when I was starting to think that I might never live a day without pain. I started to ask God questions I knew I probably shouldn’t ask…when? When am I going to be healed? When can I get back to my normal self? When is this negative turn of events going to stop?
God spoke. He reminded me that, just like a business, my life had troughs and peaks. A business takes a few years to rebuild and get out of a trough, and only then can the business grow again. So it is with my life. I had to be patient and let God do his work as I got out of my own trough; I couldn’t expect to hit a peak only after a year (something I had naively hoped for).
Now looking back, God was giving me an opportunity to experience our healthcare system firsthand. I was already interested in making healthcare more affordable and accessible, but being a patient and seeing how broken our system is only fueled those desires.
I would love to say that I am completely healed and that life is perfect. I am still in pain, but I'm so blessed that there are actual, entire days with no pain! I still get sick easily (some of you have mentioned that I'm falling apart! :)), but I am getting stronger each day with God's help. I probably am still in the process of climbing out of my own trough, but I'm reminded what a privilege it is to be in business school, to be living out a dream. I am learning that PURE JOY is just like taking up our cross - it's a choice that we must practice daily. As I'm writing this, I'm reminded, “Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is our strength." Nehemiah 8:10 Amen!
If you're currently going through a trial, no matter how big or small, please share it with our HCF community. I would love to pray for you and with you, and I'm sure many others are willing as well. We are not meant to go through such things alone. Look forward to living out joy amidst trials and seeking God's together!
Love,
Dorothy
Praises and Prayer Requests
PRAISE for a long weekend and beautiful weather! Praise that we are children of God and nothing can separate us from His love.
PRAYER for those who are going to the Believers in Business conference this weekend. Pray for open ears and hearts and for good fellowship. Prayer those who are searching for internships and jobs. Pray for wisdom and peace and time to prepare. Prayer for gratefulness.
Please submit your own praises and prayer requests to your co-presidents and specify whether we have permission to include them in the newsletter. Even if you don't want them to be public, we would be so delighted to share in your blessings and lift up your burdens.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:19
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