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Stan needed rest, but there was no letting up. His schedule was outrageously full: appointments, meetings, consultations, and routine activities kept him in the office and hospital almost eighteen hours a day. As if this weren't enough, medical crises came up during the night, and several nights a week he would be called in to attend to these problems. He missed his wife and children, who went on a European vacation without him. He was running short on steam, as he said to his colleagues. Even though doctors have hectic schedules, he knew he needed a break.

The break came in the form of the flu. It wasn't a welcome break, but it was a break. Stan had worked through lunches, barely taken time to relax, much less get adequate rest at night. And he got sick. Stan coughed and sneezed and ached for three days. His secretary canceled all his appointments and wouldn't give him his messages. Nothing was as urgent as getting well, she said.

So Stan rested. And rested and rested. And he thought and thought and thought.

Stan slept for two days straight and on the third day he took turns between laying in the hammock and on the recliner. He propped open the patio door on the deck so he could feel the ocean breeze. He was starting to feel alive again. He took a week of afternoons off to think, rest, and consider his direction in life.

Stan looked back on the last few weeks and months, the hectic schedule and the extreme hours. It was outrageous. It was unnecessary. He needed to change something. But what?

He prayed and meditated on what the "what" could be all week. His answer came with the visit of his friend, Bill. His friend, also a medical doctor, wanted a change. He wanted to start an urgent care clinic where there would be set hours, set schedules, and a set routine. Bill wanted more time with his wife and children. He wanted time to read medical journals and novels. He wanted to play golf and go the movies a few times a year. He wanted just a little more routine so he could be with his children. Bill was fed up with his present schedule. The words echoed in Stan's ears. It was as if he were hearing his own thoughts of the past week aloud.

Stan and Bill talked long into the night. They talked the next day, Saturday. They dreamed, they schemed, and they thought. They talked to trusted friends, their wives, their children, and most importantly, they prayed about it both together and privately. Was this what God wanted for them?

Eleven months later, plans were made. Bill and Stan were going to open an urgent care center in an old office building. They would renovate the building and make it a welcome place where people could be seen right away. It was a big gamble, but it was worth taking. Doctors were lined up. Equipment had to be ordered, contractors set up and started, and publicity had to begin. It was an enormous task, but one that Stan welcomed. It was as if there were a renewal in his vocation, his passion for helping people.

The urgent care center opened and business was slow for the first month. It gave Stan and Bill a chance to work out more details. Slowly things took off and business was great. But the best thing for Stan was a set schedule, time for his wife and family, and the chance to feel human again. He was renewed, energized to go on with the next fifty years of his life!