As the World Weeps
I glanced at the test result of my Covid positive patient who had just come in laboring at three centimeters. Both she and her husband were in disbelief at the test result since they had both been asymptomatic and had taken great care to minimize exposures. Her husband even suggested that maybe the ten minutes of their hospital stay prior to the nasopharyngeal swab for Covid, had somehow resulted in an exposure that made the test positive. Increasingly in the past few months, we have had patients that are asymptomatic but with positive Covid tests. As a physician, this is much more preferable than the acuity of the sicker patients from before.
Worldwide, the pandemic has changed us all. I remember the night before we were supposed to leave for the Philippines on a mission trip, when the news came out that Manila was going on lockdown. We were in disbelief but were hopeful that everything would reopen in a few weeks. However, as public masking and social distancing became a daily reality, the world began to realize the costs of a pandemic both corporately and individually. The stress and the pain from countless losses – losing loved ones, finances, health, friendships – so much has changed within the past two years for all of us. And I see this daily, as I hand out tissues to weeping patients who feel so overwhelmed and helpless. The diagnoses of anxiety and depression have leapt exponentially in my patients’ problem lists. And amidst all this turmoil and sadness, I am reminded of how “Jesus wept” in John 11:35. Jesus empathized deeply when He saw His friend’s deep sorrow at her brother’s death, “Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” John 11:33. “Though He was the Son of God, yet He had taken human nature upon Him, and He was moved by human sorrow. His tender, pitying heart is ever awakened to sympathy by suffering. He weeps with those that weep, and rejoices with those that rejoice.” DA p. 533.
We are constantly being reminded that we live in a volatile world of unrest as waves of violence in our own country continue to crash down around us. And especially striking closer to home, the recent spa shootings in Atlanta have brought to light the ugliness of Asian-American hate. Other examples of random acts of violence toward Asians, especially the elderly, are also coming to light in the media. Most of us grew up with parents that had immigrated to America, with dreams of freedom and success. We all joined in our families’ struggles to work hard and achieve these dreams. And any unpleasant interactions were ignored or swept under the rug, in order to focus on working hard in hopes that our hard work would speak for itself and win people over. Although this may not have been the healthiest way to deal with adversity; thankfully, the positive attitude and strong work ethic springing from the deep faith of our parents have resulted in God blessing our families with so many amazing testimonies.
As Korean-American Seventh-day Adventists, we know we have the Hope that this world filled with sinfulness and sorrow will come to an end. We also know that we are invited to participate in bringing the Good News to a world deeply in need. This sin-sick and weary world desperately needs to know about God’s love and His plan of salvation. We know that God in His lovingkindness has a plan for each one of us to be here “for such a time as this” Esther 4:14. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” Hebrews 10:24-25.
Elizabeth Chung is a Board certified OB/GYN who works in a private group practice in Mansfield, Ohio. She completed her dual degree in medicine and law from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio and her OB/GYN Residency from Wright State University in Dayton, OH. She also earned a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.
Growing up in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Elizabeth dreamed of serving as a physician sharing God’s love in a tangible and practical way that transforms lives. She is happily married to Jeremiah Waworoendeng, and they enjoy caring for their two fur babies named Kimchee and Noonchee. She feels very blessed to be part of God’s work in ministries like AMEN (amensda.org) and very much looks forward to the Day when there will be no more death and sorrow.