You were meant to be :)

I heard a song tonight called "Meant to Be" by Steven Curtis Chapman. The story behind the song is found here. The song is fantastic (as are all of his songs), but it was especially powerful because he sang of God's perfect plan for your lives. As many of you may know, the Chapmans are adoptive parents (multiple times!) and Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this song specifically for the VeggieTales movie, "It's a Meaningful Life" (based on "It's a Wonderful Life" and about being content). He said that he related to the main character of the movie because they both are adoptive parents.
The song mainly is about how we are meant to be everything we are and we are meant to touch all of the lives we are touching. He even spoke of all the lives touched by his daughter who died fairly recently in an accident, and he was happy to say that she is in Heaven and that she has touched millions of lives.
Back on track, SCC's song, "Meant to Be" reminded me of the couples I know (and ones of whom I know) who are progressing through the adoptive process. It also made me think of the people (some of which are now categorized in the "currently adopting" category) who are struggling with infertility. One of those couples in particular feel very strongly now that adoption was always in God's plan for them; they were always meant to be adoptive parents. I bet they're right!!

The lyrics to the song are below, as is the video for the song. Really pay attention to these lyrics, and know that God is setting a path for you in your life. He's created His plan; we just need to listen and be part of the plan's execution. :)

"Meant to Be"
Steven Curtis Chapman


Long Before You Drew Your First Breath
A Dream Was Coming True
God Wanted to Give A Gift To The World
So He Wrapped It Up In You
Every Step That You’ve Taken
Every Move That You Make
Is Part Of His Plan
You Were Meant To Be Touching
The Lives That You Touch
And Meant To Be Here
Making This World So Much More
Than It Would Be Without You In It
You Were Meant To Be Bringing
The Gifts That You Bring
And Singing The Songs
You’ve Been Given To Sing
You Are Perfectly, Wonderfully,
Beautifully Meant To Be
You Were Meant To Be
Long Before You Took Your First Fall
You stumbled to the ground
God started telling the story of you to the angles around
Every failure and victory
Everything in between
Its all in his hand
You Were Meant To Be Touching
The Lives That You Touch
And Meant To Be Here
Making This World So Much More
Than It Would Be Without You In It
You Were Meant To Be Bringing
The Gifts That You Bring
And Singing The Songs
You’ve Been Given To Sing
You Are Perfectly, Wonderfully,
Beautifully Meant To Be
You Were Meant To Be (yeah)
Meant To Be
You are
You are
You are meant to be
You are
You are
You are meant to be
For every breath that your taking
And every move that you make
It’s a meaningful life you’ve been given
Live it well
You Were Meant To Be Touching
The Lives That You Touch
And Meant To Be Here
Making This World So Much More
Than It Would Be Without You In It
You Were Meant To Be Bringing
The Gifts That You Bring
And Singing The Songs
You’ve Been Given To Sing
You Are Perfectly, Wonderfully,
Beautifully Meant To Be (yeah)
You Were Meant To Be (yeah)
You Were Meant To Be (yeah)
You Were Meant To Be
To Be
You Were Meant To Be

Deliverance

All of my favorites are amazing people, but one of my newest besties briefly shared something with Cru (Campus Crusades for Christ, for those of you unfamiliar with it) tonight so I thought I'd write a little bit about it. :)

Tonight at Cru, the microphone was left open all evening for everyone who wanted to share something. One of those people was my good friend. She got up and talked about a struggle she'd been having for the longest time. She couldn't seem to get past it, but this semester changed everything. She recently was delivered from this sin in her life, and she now feels amazing knowing that God is in control and nothing can keep Him away now.

One part of this testimony that blew me away was that this young woman is so incredibly filled with joy (and I really could see her genuine excitement!) over this deliverance that she was glad to share her experience with an auditorium full of 200+ people. She wasn't worried that people might judge her (in which case, in my opinion, those people wouldn't be acting very Christ-like!) or think differently of her. In all honesty, the fact that she opened up tonight and shared the way that God has worked in her life this semester has made me love her even more! She knew that she had nothing to be ashamed of anymore, because she is FREE of the chains that were keeping her from feeling the true love of God each and every day. :)
Nothing can match the overflowing love, forgiveness, and grace from our Heavenly Father, that's for sure!

In closing, I want you to read some song lyrics (and listen to the song below, please!). I remembered this song as I heard my friend's testimony, and I think it perfectly expresses the rescuing power Jesus Christ. <3

My Deliverer, You rescued me from all that held me captive
My Deliverer, You set me free. Now I'm alive and I can live,
And every moment I will give You praise
My Deliverer




:) Love to all

Trust, Honor, and Betrayal

Well, I'm not really sure how this whole blog will end up since I've decided to not bother organizing my thoughts (thanks, Mike) on this one. I'm just going to wing it, so bear with me!

I've been thinking A LOT recently about the topic I'm about to address, so I guess I just want to express some of those thoughts.

First, I think that trust is one of the most important properties in a relationship--whether it's a friendly or romantic one--and I believe that if you don't have trust, you don't have a relationship that's even worth having.
Promises are included in this trust. If you trust someone, you'll believe them when they make a promise, vow, or commitment. What happens when the TRUST is broken? What happens when PROMISES are broken? What about when another aspect of your relationship is violated--does that impact trust as well?

Suppose a friend/boyfriend/etc. violated your trust in some way one time. You expressed your distaste for such behavior/actions/etc you experienced with this person. They apologized; you forgave. They asked for another chance; you granted it.
But WHAT IF they do it again? Second chance is blown. They apologize more. You forgive more, but less enthusiastically than the first time. They ask for yet another chance, and you feel inclined to give one to them because you don't want to end such a great relationship(friendship/romantic relationship) over something you think they couldn't POSSIBLY do again. 3rd chance=check! Things are back to normal, trust is back, and everything is fine and dandy again. :)

Okay, but they hurt you a fourth time. Now what?? A fourth chance? Suppose you've forgiven them (as the Bible suggests you should!) and you're not even mad anymore. However, you just can't trust them anymore. You feel completely betrayed and disrespected. You don't know what to think. You don't know how to feel or maybe how to act towards the person anymore. Perhaps you don't even feel excitement or even just general comfort talking to them. Well, how would you handle that? Would this be the point in your friendship/relationship at which you need to go your separate ways? Are you just two conflicting lives that don't mesh as well as you had initially hoped?

I guess I don't really have a conclusion to this blog. Usually I offer some sort of hope or insight, but I think I'd rather hear all of your input! Care to share?

Tell me what you're thinking after reading.
Have you been experiencing something similar?
Maybe someone you know has been going through such a predicament?
Any profound or inspirational thoughts on your mind?
How many chances are too many?

Share anything. I haven't intended my blogs to be strictly my own thoughts. I love discussion!

I see (and smell?) dead people.

Disclaimer: This blog may not be for the faint-hearted or squeemish. :)

I thought I'd take a moment to tell you about one of the most amazing learning experiences I've had this semester:

I visited a
CADAVER LAB! 
Yes, its true.

This past Friday I (along with 15ish others) went on a trip to UMES and visited the cadaver lab. A bunch of Physical Therapy students were in the middle of their Gross Anatomy lab--the last one of their semester--and they were able to show and teach us pretty much anything we wanted!

We were allowed to touch anything we felt inclined to touch, so naturally...I touched several things! Allow me to describe what I touched (with gloves, mind you!):

1. A heart
2. Some lungs
3. Cancerous growth (Mesothelioma)

1. Okay, starting with the heart!
The PT students had just removed the heart and lungs from their cadavers; there were 12 total in the lab. ((Side note: Since the heart and lungs were removed, I witnessed empty chest cavities with no heart/lungs present. Weird!))
The heart is pink and squishy, and kinda heavy! I saw the aorta (the largest artery in the body, starting from left ventricle of heart and extending to the abdomen where it becomes 2 smaller arteries) of a heart--actually, I saw a segment of it which was connected to the heart removed from the body. Anyway, the aorta is HUGE! It's super big in diameter--that's a lot of blood pumping through that artery. Wow!

2. Lungs!!
I held both healthy and unhealthy lungs.
The healthy lungs were pinkish (a slightly lighter pink than the heart) and also kind of heavy ((When I say "heavy" for these organs, I mean heavier than I had expected)). The unhealthy lungs were also pinkish, but they had a bunch of dark--blackish--spots all over them. I was told this was due to either smoking or other lung disease (the students had only been told the main cause of death and no other conditions present in the future. This person died of organic brain disease. This also was the same body from which I held the heart). Lungs are squishy too!

3. I touched a cancerous growth from Mesothelioma!
This was on a different cadaver from the 2 I described above from which I touched the lungs and heart. The growth had been up against the lungs and it was surprisingly hard. It wasn't squishy by any definition of the word. I can see why cancer can be so painful! I also understand now why a surgeon may feel around with their hands when looking for cancer to remove surgically. To my surprise, this cancer wasn't even the main cause of death. I'm not sure what was the MAJOR cause of death, but that person also suffered from COPD (a lung condition).

Some other notes about the cadaver lab I visited:
-There were 12 cadavers in the lab.
-Most of the bodies were from the elderly, and most died from cardiovascular causes (which is expected of the elderly). The oldest was 96 years old!
-The cadavers have a distinct smell and it is NOT pleasant! Some bodies had a stronger odor than others, but I got over the smell alright. The worst part of it was leaving the lab and having the smell stuck in your clothes and hair! Yuck! The moment I got home, I threw all of my clothing in the washing machine (with no other clothes for fear of it spreading!) and showered thoroughly!
-I also saw the layers of muscles in the foot, some tunnels (including the carpal tunnel--they described what happens when someone has carpal tunnel syndrome), and all of the skin had been removed from the cadavers so when parts (likes arms) were moved, we saw ALL the parts that move inside!
-Every body is different, so all of the students were tested on every body in the lab, not just the one they've been dissecting (about 4 students per cadaver). They have to recognize different parts on every body. For instance, one group had a cadaver who had one particular part on the left side of his chest cavity, while the other cadavers had it on the right!
-Umm I don't know what else, but ask me something and I might have more to tell! :)

I can't wait to visit next semester after they've dissected the head and removed the brain/spinal cord!!

Alright, I hope I didn't gross you out or anything, but for the record: there was a disclaimer at the beginning.
Ahhh I just can't wait to have a cadaver of my own to explore and study. Medical school, hurry up and get here!