I had a friend in college who used to say, “We will all know each others’ stories in Heaven. We will all pray for one another in Heaven. Why not live like we’re already there?”
I caught a glimpse of Heaven at ASCB.
Despite its rising claim to fame as a high power research institution, Notre Dame is not really known for Cell Biology. In fact, only two labs remain as regular attendees at the American Society for Cell Biology meeting, or ASCB for short.
I had been looking forward to this meeting ever since Dr. Vaughan mentioned it.
I love learning from other fields and gaining insights in unique ways, but I longed for the familiarity of words like “COS-7 cells” and “wide view fluorescence microscopy” in a way I never really could explain. I had been to ASCB sponsored meetings before, but this was different. This was a meeting for all Cell Biologists, not just the ones in the near area or in a niche field.
I was nervous. This was the first time I would be sharing the second part of the STARD9 story, and I would be sharing this story with some of the top researchers in all fields of cell biology.
However, as I went through the sessions proceeding my talk, I felt that fear drop away.
From the back row I watched as strong women shared the stories of their lab’s work. I’ve been teased for being so happy in my presentations, but these women were some of the most respected researchers in their fields. They smiled, and they laughed, and they joked about their own work. They admitted when their post doc understood the work better than they did, and they were not afraid to make waves in the field.
I watched dogma changing before my eyes, and it was all by strong scientists who had a community to back them and their eyes focused on something greater than themselves.
I even heard a presenter speak of a higher power…in front of a room filled from wall to wall.
Not only did I witness people like myself speaking and sharing their stories, but I sat beside students just like me. These were kids who were struggling to get funding for their basic work, but joking all the time. These were kids who were shocked by the phrase “transmembrane kinesin” and laughed at microtubule jokes. These were kids just like me, excited about science and dreaming of becoming the professors on the podium.
No one knew my name, but they included me. If I went to their poster, they would greet me in the halls. If I sat with them at a meal, they would sit with me in the sessions.
The community wasn’t just restricted to graduate students. Over and over again I watched as professors would run up and hug one another. I watched old men cracking jokes about their struggles and attend one anothers’ sessions, even if their fields were wildly different. My advisor introduce me to dozens of his friends, and they all came to my talk even if only for a slide.
In a world where cell biology is pushed aside for more specialized forms of cellular biology, it seemed as though we were finally able to be our true scientific selves.
Even the biggest names in cancer research seemed more relaxed here than I ever saw them before.
In Heaven, we will all be one in God. Our stories will be known, loved, and understood in a pure and clear way. As I sat in the rooms and watched some of the greatest names in science share their stories with such peace, I could only imagine how joyful we would feel in Heaven where we will come to understand how God’s love and mercy acted throughout our entire lives.
I saw the joy of Communion at ASCB.
Sure, there were people who were competing with one another. Sure there was criticism and conflict, but there was a general understanding that everyone in that convention center was seeking the Truth.
I could see the stress on their faces as they were questioned.
But when the feuding pairs reached an understanding, one that challenged dogma yet seemed to reach the Truth, the tension faded away. We were here for the Truth, not just some semblance of it.
Then it came time to share my story.
11:10am in room 29c. Because of the community I fostered between new friends and my advisor’s friends, the room was packed from wall to wall. Due to a bad side effect of my medication, I felt like I was going to faint. However, as I slide my hand to my heart and pressed my pinky finger on the Rosary I stuffed in my bra, I fell in to place.
God gave me this community, and He gave me this research. It was time for me to not only share my science but also share His glory in Creation. It was time to be just like those strong women I watched for two days prior to myself.
“A motor, in the lysosomal membrane, that can bind cholesterol,” I emphasized and turned to the room, “It seems like the perfect protein to drive tubulation.”
I saw eyes widen, professors lean forward in their chairs, and my advisor smile.
“Good job on your talk!” Dr. Kristen Verhey, my cytoskeleton idol, smiled at me as we passed after the talk, “It was very interesting.”
She was not the only one to praise my story. I gave a poster the following day, and people were coming to my poster in waves. My advisor came running with water and caffeine and helped pushed people away so I could use the restroom.
Over and over I heard people praise my story.
Not only that, but they found ways to connect to my story that I could never have predicted. Is that not just like how it feels when we encounter a Saint who struggled and prayed just like us? Despite the distance between Heaven and Earth, there is always a way to connect to our Heavenly Family.
All it takes is sharing our story for the world to hear.
God will give us the words so long as we listen.
A lot of times the student is just considered a reflection of their advisor. More often than not, when a student is questioned, it is because the inquirer does not agree with their mentor’s hypothesis or methodology. However, as my fellow cell biologists came up to talk about my story, I started to realize that they did not see me as just a copy of my advisor or an extension of the story from the previous graduate students and post doc’s.
They heard me praise our former lab members and the many gifts that came together to make my story what it is today.
They saw and heard me as an individual.
All along, however, they would look in to my eyes and ask where the story came from in the first place. No amount of data or background seemed to satisfy them. Sure, I know that some of them were envious that our lab found the answer first, but I also knew that they were genuinely interested in how the answer came to be.
I wished I had been strong enough to say that God gave me these answers in an Adoration Chapel and in the middle of presentation about Mary and the Saints, but it was not the time nor the place.
His little ones will come Home soon.
After two and a half hours of questions, I finally had a moment to rush to the restroom. As I sprinted, I made the Sign of the Cross, and I started to whisper the Divine Praises over and over to myself. I did not stop whispering this prayer until the end of the poster session three hours later. Here in this community I saw a piece of Heaven, and it was all by the grace of God that I was able to participate.
I am not a reflection of my advisor
I am a reflection of Jesus Christ, my Savior.
My dad told me once that many of the best physicians were fellow Christians. Now I see that in the sciences. It is not because God loves us more, but it is because all we want is to see Him in the world, to touch Him in some way, to participate in His Creation. The physicians care for His People, and we the scientists care for His Creation in the smallest of ways.
So when a Christian uncovers His glory in Creation…people see us.
But they do not see us…they see Him.
“Blessed be God.
Blessed be His holy Name.
Blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true Man.
Blessed be the Name of Jesus.
Blessed be His Most Sacred heart.
Blessed be His Most Precious Blood.
Blessed be Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.
Blessed be the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete.
Blessed be the great Mother of God, Mary most Holy.
Blessed be her Holy and Immaculate Conception.
Blessed be her Glorious Assumption.
Blessed be the name of Mary, Virgin and Mother.
Blessed be Saint Joseph, her most chaste spouse.
Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints.
Amen.”
No comments:
Post a Comment