Here a couple of pictures that illustrate well the extremes of the past couple of weeks.  Thanksgiving was a low point for me; probably the lowest of the semester.  I was feeling discouraged about the amount of material and my lack of understanding in biochem for that week.   A lot of this is due to unrealistic expectations on my own part (expecting myself to know it right off the bat) and also ... it's just med school!  

     I had a dream that I was trying to merge onto the highway and I was waiting for this huge semi to pass.  It took forever before I finally saw the end of it.  Analyze that one all you psych majors.  

    So (as you may well have guessed from the picture) there have been a lot of late nights.  I think I took that photo around 12am.  "Sweatshirt on a tropical island," you ask.  Well let me say that the classrooms are kept at near polar conditions which necessitates the use of a large (preferably hooded) sweatshirt.  Anyways, I digress...

    This semester has been all about learning.  "Duh" you might say, but let me expound upon this idea.  Sure there is a ton, and I do mean a ton of information thrown at you.  Not only are you learning about all things medical, but you are learning to funnel and strain all that information into what is important and what is testable.  That's really only the platform.  This semester has also been about learning how to study, how to manage your time, how to persevere and also figuring out the maximum amount of caffeine your body can take without going into some kind of cardiac arrhythmia.

     There's also the part about having to face your weaknesses and learning how to combat and even change them.  That one has personally been a raging battle.

     Thought I was done....but no:  spiritually it is also a learning process.  Will I really trust in God or abandon Him or accuse Him at the first sign of trouble?  Will I stay in the fight on a daily basis and will I continue to move, especially when I least feel like it?  Will I make time for God or will I attempt all this on my own?  These are daily, even hourly questions for me.  That is the difficulty and also the beauty of going through an experience like this.  

     The last picture is of a hummingbird I rescued.  I believe it was a gift from Jesus.  I rescued him from inside a building.  He was exhausted and he just perched on my thumb like that for about 3 or 4 minutes before buzzing off like a miniature fighter plane.  Amazing experience. Beyond words really.  

     I would ask you to really be praying for me in these last couple of weeks.  Our 3rd mini is on the 11th and the final (yes it's cumulative) is on the 16th.  Pray for my preperation time beforehand, and for the tests themselves.  Thanks for reading.

     John