You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
(Psalm 73:24, NRSV)
I am retired now and have not been in practice for more than ten years. But while I was in practice, I had many occasions to see God’s leading and guiding.
Of the many times, one particular incident stands out in my mind. During the three years my wife and I were serving as missionaries in Malaysia, I was working at Penang Mission Hospital. One day, as I was walking through the hospital, I met a Caucasian lady on the staircase. She turned to me and said, “Thank you, doctor, for saving my life!”
I was confused. She had not been one of my patients, and I hardly knew her. I remarked to the hospital staff what she said and inquired what she might be referring to. The surgery crew gave me the answer—resuscitation.
A few days prior to this unexpected encounter, I had read an article in a medical journal about resuscitation. It had mentioned several medications. Shortly after this, for some reason, I entered the hospital’s surgery suite. There I was reminded by the surgery crew that I had found a certain amount of confusion. Off-handedly, I rattled off the names of the two or three medications that I had just read about. The crew, acting promptly on my suggestions, was able to save the patient’s life. Evidently they had later informed the woman of my help. At the time, it seemed to be just another day at work.
How often do we do things that don’t seem that important at the time? In this case, in retrospect, I now know that it was “the Great Providence” that guided us all that day.
– Kai H.Pihl, LLUSM class of 1946