Jehovah Rapha, God our Healer, we are honored to have your permission to come boldly to your throne to receive your amazing, sustaining grace.

I thank you for each and every healthcare worker to whom you have entrusted the care of your people. I am so grateful for each clerk, housekeeper, security guard, floor or radiology tech, nurse’s assistant, physical or respiratory therapist, transporter, mental health provider, surgical tech, nursing home or office staff member, biller, nurse, doctor, administrator—every single one who has the honor and the burden of a life devoted to the health and care of others.

You are El Roi— the God who sees us and fully knows us all. You have seen the struggles, the fears, and the heartbreaks of the last year. You have seen us as we cried with the loved ones of those we lost, you have held us when we were so exhausted that we thought we couldn’t go another step, you received 1000s of us into your rest—those who gave their lives in the fight against Covid 19. Through it all, you have continued to strengthen us in the face of immeasurable odds. You have shown us mercy and given wisdom to the wise and knowledge to scholars to create a vaccine that offers us protection and hope.

We thank you for the grace you have poured out upon us in the midst of this unprecedented time of sickness and suffering. God, we recognize more than ever before the work that we must do to ensure that ALL your people receive equal access to and delivery of the care we provide. Forgive us, Lord, for the times we were so concerned with trivial things that we failed to care equitably for all people because we failed to accept and believe that we are ALL made in your very image.

I ask that you give us your eyes that we may see that each person we encounter is a precious one that you died to save. Give us your heart that we might love as you do—unconditionally. Give us your wisdom, that we might choose our words, actions, and each plan of care thoughtfully and compassionately.

Lord, we are eternally grateful to you for the lives and hearts and courage of every healthcare worker.

Now I ask a special blessing on each of us, and on our families. I pray that you meet every need. I ask that you heal your healers and purpose us all to be your hands and feet here in the earth.

In Jesus’ name I pray, So be it.

This week, I realized a dream of mine—I started performing robotic surgery!😍 I’ve been wanting train in robotic surgery since the very first time I saw Jeffrey F. Hines, MD performing robot-assisted cases in 2011. Sadly, at that time, my training hospital did not have a robot— or even great laparoscopic equipment for that matter, so I didn’t get a lot of laparoscopic experience until I got into practice.

After completing my residency training, I chose a job at a site that had a robot and a talented GYN surgeon, thinking I would be treated like a colleague, trained and mentored by this individual. Unfortunately, that wasn’t how it turned out. Instead, that individual said and did things that I allowed to damage to my confindence in myself as a physician and surgeon.

When I moved on from that toxic environment, regaining my confidence and acquiring strong mentorship as a newly minted OBGYN were at the top of my to do list! I had been very well-trained and had done every case available to me during my residency—sometime driving over an hour to scrub into cases with community surgeons all over Atlanta. Thankfully, my next move yielded a wonderful Dept chair who took me under his wing and mentored me and came to all my surgeries. I attended every minimally invasive GYN surgery course I could find, I bought a pelvic surgery simulator, and I practiced relentlessly until I mastered each laparoscopic skill.

After 4 years, I moved to an institution with a robotic surgery program and another great Dept Chair, who invited me to train in robotics!

After months of simulation training and passing all of my courses, I performed my first 3 robotic surgeries yesterday, and I LOVED IT!!! My first case was a pretty large uterus with a lot of fibroids—I was feeling really intimidated, but my trainer and my proctor (a person who basically oversees my first cases and makes sure I am operating safely) didn’t say a word about the size of the uterus, even though it was much bigger than the imaging study originally led me to believe. I was so tempted to go back to straight-stick laparoscopy—what was most comfortable for me, but I refused to go back to my comfort zone without at least giving my best try, and so, I docked the robotic arms just as I had practiced time and time again. I sat down at the console, I envisioned completing the case safely and successfully. Then…I DID that case!! And it was faster and easier than if I would have gone back to straight-stick laparoscopic surgery! I was completely amazed that I did it so quickly and smoothly. Then I did another complicated case and finally to end the day, a straightforward one. At the end of the day, my proctor, who has done hundreds of these cases said to me “you made these cases look easy. There is pretty much nothing different I would have done.”

I was on cloud 9!! I praised God all the way home for allowing me to realize this dream, but also for how He has restored my confidence in my ability to do precisely what I believe he put me here on earth to do— to care for women throughout their lifetime compassionately and excellently. I am in awe of all the honor he bestows on me in trusting me to care for his most precious creations.

Looking at the size of the uterus in the first case was SOO intimidating that I was tempted to back out. But then I remembered my favorite Bible character, the Dahveed Israel and Judah (King David), when he faced Goliath and MANY other challenges. He wrote “when I am afraid, I will trust in you.” He RAN out to meet the challenges courageously, even in the midst of fear. I determined to do that as well. I said a silent prayer, slipped off my shoes, and sat down at the surgeon’s console and got started.

God blesses what we DO. In order for him to bless our efforts, we have to MAKE THE EFFORT first—even when we are afraid or intimidated by the scope of our dream.

I was so encouraged by the surgery outcomes and by the lessons of this day! I hope you will be encouraged to trust God’s timing, to pursue the dreams he gives you, and NOT to run from the Giants that seem to guard the territory that YOU know you are to possess!