When I Almost Didn’t Go to Medical School

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

Because there are far more applicants to the nations medical schools than there are positions, the process is quite competitive. So, when I got my acceptance letter on that fateful spring 30 years ago and opened it to read, “Congratulations”, my heart soared. When the letter went on however, to say that I was on the alternate list, my heart came crashing back down. I didn’t know what the alternate list was, but I quickly learned – If someone who’d been accepted didn’t want to go (perhaps they got into another school), then the admissions team would move on to the next applicant on the alternate list. I was far enough down the alternate list though, that it seemed that I’d likely need an alternate plan.

I scrambled through my options and ended up committing to go to Zaire (now the Congo) to work on a missionary hospital for a year. So, in July of that year, I found myself in the middle of two weeks of mission training in Minneapolis, when I heard through a friend that my name was coming up next on the alternate list. When I got the call, they required an immediate yes or no. I had a decision to make. I wanted to go to medical school, but I was honestly excited about a year in an African hospital. I naively asked if the medical school could hold my spot until the following year. No. Do you want to come or not? We need a decision now.

Once I made up my mind, saying yes to medical school, my life abruptly and radically changed. I was now a medical student and as such, I was not going to Zaire. I couldn’t do both. So, I dropped out of missionary training, quit my summer job, and scrambled for a place to live in Vermillion, South Dakota. Once I made that decision, everything about my life changed. I was now a medical student.

This, to me, illustrates Israel’s choice in today’s passage. In the story, Elijah confronted his people, demanding that they make a choice. They claimed to believe in God, but they worshipped Baal, a false god. Elijah insisted they couldn’t do both. Make up your mind. If God is God, then that changes everything. If he is real, then you must give all of yourselves to him.

I’ve lived for years with that same indecision displayed by the Israelites. Yes, I believed in God, but I followed me. If I truly believe God is God though, then it must change everything. If he is God, I must listen to what he’s said and I must do what he asks. If God is God, then that fact should impact every aspect of my life as I follow him in everything I do.