White Coat

The beginning. I've been told it's the most important--really the only thing that matters. The first line of a speech is that "hook" to prevent people from sleeping; the title of a book catches the eye of library/bookstore roamers; the first meeting is what sets the stage for relationships (the so called, "first impression"); the opening of a movie in theaters; the first cell phone one owns (what could a 10 year old possibly do with an iPhone, by the way? Today I saw 3 kids competing for the high score of this "Star Wars Angry Birds" game as if it was the Olympics. Madness. I am old).

The anticipation and excitement of the first, the new, the different, is somehow so large, so special, that the further one proceeds past the beginning, the more that thing becomes dull, boring, ordinary.

Enter, medical school. Day 0 (yes, 0). Technically, I hadn't officially started classes, but this was even better...the day before Day 1 was that which every aspiring physician dreams about: the white coat ceremony. Another "beginning"...but He was soon to reveal this beginning to be different. With the anticipation of the first day of my career accumulating exponentially for years, I was overwhelmed with happiness and excitement. For once in my life, I felt absolutely fearless, empowered, indescribably grateful and utterly joyful. Nothing could shake me. It was literally the best feeling I had ever felt; better than any birthday, than graduation, even than getting into med school (okay, I'll stop now. You get it).

Days passed and that exciting, joyous feeling started turning into worry, fear, and disturbance as the amount of routine, stressful studying kicked in. I was getting distracted by the logistical things that I lost sight of what it was that I was going through all this for. As time passed, I started forgetting the white coat.

Sound familiar?

For some of us, we had the great blessing to be raised in the church; baptized at infancy, growing up receiving Christ's Body and Blood every week and having our faith explained to us through Sunday School. For others, our journey to Christ involved a bit more searching and struggling before finding Him. But no matter which journey you take, the result is the same: choosing whether or not to receive that White Coat. And when we do, He clothes us with purity and leaves us with the most exhilarating, most exciting, glorious, indescribable feeling we could ever experience. When Christ robes us with our own White Coat, we are unstoppable.


But then...that feeling starts to fade as we move out further from that coating moment. We get distracted. For school, I got so caught up with studying and memorizing pathways and symptoms of disease that I forgot what the purpose of all it was--I forgot about my love to serve others, I forgot about my future patients, and most of all...I forgot my love for medicine. The white coat had been a distant memory. I had it tucked away, out of sight, out of mind, and I became disturbed, uneasy...and scared. What happened to the fearless girl? What happened to the gratitude? I had been complaining of how much studying I had to do, how much I was missing out. I was scared of failure, worried to get kicked out of school.

I got so distracted, that I became lost.

The same is true for us as Christians. With each cleansing--each time we repent or seek to be healed--we experience something beautiful as God's mercy and compassion becomes so vivid and powerful that it is as if He is personally robing us with His love. But we are human, and life is full of distractions. All too often we get so caught up in pleasing others, in trying to fit in, worrying about self-image, who to be with, where to go, what to do, money, school, work, that we lose sight of our purpose in this life and the power of that unstoppable feeling decreases. And it's not like any of these things are bad; it's all important: school, finances, work, etc...but where's our heart? What's our purpose? What's the goal?

...forgetting those things which are behind and 

reaching forward to those things which are ahead

I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

phil 3:13-14

It's critical for us to stay focused. We cannot lose sight of the goal, the purpose, amidst all the distractions. Seems as though the Philippians had a similar issue; St. Paul helps refocus them by reminding them that we are only here on earth temporarily, and that all these distractions will all vanish...so why do we worry about them so much? Why worry at all? Because doing so only pulls us further from that fearless and peaceful feeling we first had.

And sooner than later, we end up lost.

But here's the best thing. Receiving the White Coat from Christ isn't only through baptism. You think God would only want you to experience that awesome, unstoppable, unbelievable feeling, only once? Impossible; don't underestimate how merciful our God is. He has it ready for us whenever we want. We live a life full of struggles, temptation, and trouble...but God gives us a chance to be cleaned; to be robed anew...every single day.

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is Your faithfulness!

Lam 3:22-23

Just when we start losing ourselves in all of the mess of life, God, in His incomparable mercy and compassion, gracefully gives us the chance to receive that White Coat once again. He stands on the stage ready to wrap you up in His arms and make you anew. All we have to do is take the first step to the stage.