Encouragement

It seems that recently, a fair amount of people have been negative about Jason's decision to leave engineering (a fairly lucrative and stable career) to pursue medicine. Our families are reasonably supportive, they just don't want us to leave Oregon. It is disheartening when neighbors and acquaintances respond with, "What!? WHY???" and it makes us question if we are making the right choice. Jason always responds to naysayers with these points:

1. He believes his gifts are elsewhere (as in, not in sitting at a desk and coding). He is a very compassionate, gregarious, soothing person, and he has a servant's heart. He wants to serve people and affect change in a more tangible, moment-by-moment way. He enjoys a fast paced environment where he can move around and be confronted with new situations and problems.
2. He needs the opportunity to establish deeper relationships. Engineering, at least software, is a pretty isolated job. He has meetings and does work within a group, but mostly he sits at his desk coding.
3. He (we) value education for education's sake. It is important to him to pursue even higher education, and he is not motivated or interested in getting a Masters or Ph.D in computer science. As a teacher, I know that should he pursue higher degrees in engineering, he probably would not be successful because of this lack of interest.
4. He is not happy in engineering and dreads the thought of it as his career for the next 30 years.

People still insist that he is crazy, though. When I think deeply about it, I get stressed as well, mostly because I am so afraid of being dirt poor for so long during med school and residency, having to move away from my support network of family and friends, and never seeing him or having him to support me in raising our children. Because we are starting later than some, and Jason can't quit work to go to school full time until he starts med school, the journey will be especially long for us.

It is funny (and amazing) how God redirects you and offers you peace in the midst of stress or adversity. Upon opening my computer, I found this post from the Lives of Doctor's Wives blog. It was exactly what I needed to recommit to this medical journey. I know Jason and I have a stronger-than-average marriage, have excellent communication, and are committed to meeting eachother's needs. The horror stories you hear of absent doctor husbands or of wives being left after the stress of training is said and done, those men are not my husband. They are men who choose from the beginning that family will always be second to career. They are men who are egocentric, selfish and proud - who are unwilling to serve their wives and love them more than they do themselves. It is not medicine that breaks up the marriage in that case, it is the marriage itself, doomed regardless of career choice.

Anyway, just thought I would share that blessing. A bit of encouragement when I needed it most :) I am thankful for blogging, for it has offered me a support network of women who are going through or have been through what I will be going through :)

Baby Name of the Day: Long time since I have posted an idea. Right now Jason and I like Chase. Not sure of the middle name but would like to do a family name from my side...