In two months I turn 63 and almost all the 23,000 days of my life so far have been graced with energy, enthusiasm and good health. Until this point I have been spared the major maladies of cancer, stroke and heart attack, for which I give God thanks. Despite these marvelous blessings I am increasingly experiencing the mortality of this present body, a model neither intended nor equipped to function forever. Several episodes of atrial fibrillation remind me not to take the heart's steady rhythms for granted. My early stage Parkinson's disease testifies to the complexity and precariousness of … [Read more...]
Archives for 2012
MILESTONE AND MILLSTONE
This Monday (May 13, 2002) marked a milestone in my life and its passing also removed a millstone of sorts from around my neck. That day was exactly two months before my 58th birthday, which weighed on my mind because 30 years ago my father died exactly two months before he would have turned 58 years old. Call it silly, superstitious or satanic, I have long wondered, with some measure of anxiety, whether God would give me earthly life longer than he gave it to my Dad. Monday's angst was increased because that morning I entered Methodist Hospital here in Houston for sinus surgery. In my … [Read more...]
FRAIL CREATURES OF DUST
If Scripture teaches us anything about ourselves, it surely is that we are mortal creatures totally dependent on God every moment of our lives, which on earth are always temporary and at best all too brief. God made us from elements of earth, to which we eventually return. He animates our clay bodies with his gift of life-breath and makes us whole living beings ("souls" in Hebrew). Every moment's life, every experience of joy and taste of beauty, every sharing of love -- all are gifts of divine grace to a frail people living in a broken world. I have known this all my life and have taught … [Read more...]
REFLECTIONS OF A ‘TURTLE’
I say "reflections of a turtle" because these are a few thoughts that impressed me deeply while I was lying flat on my back for large periods of time during the past two weeks following back surgery. (And, unless something really motivates me, this is the last you will have to hear about that entire experience.) The first morning after surgery I gained a profound appreciation for the simplicity of intimacy, when wife Sara Faye came to my bedside with a breakfast tray and proceeded to feed me, spoon by spoon, a wonderful bowl of warm oatmeal coated with brown sugar. I was too "stove up," as … [Read more...]
FAITH WINS OVER FEARS
It is true that 48 hours earlier I had been deeply anesthetized during surgery. More anesthesia than usual, as it happened, because scar tissue from an earlier epidural prolonged the procedure, and also to offset a sudden increase in blood pressure during surgery. Then there were the post-op pills -- an anti-inflammatory, a muscle relaxant and a narcotic pain reliever. Whatever the reason, sleep had been troubled both nights since surgery. Frightful nightmares, interrupted by waking almost hourly to a sense of horror and thoughts of death. I prayed for peace of mind and sleep, but neither came … [Read more...]
BACK TO GOOD HEALTH
With the Psalmist I pray, "I will extol Thee, O LORD, for Thou hast lifted me up. O LORD my God, I cried to thee for help, and Thou didst heal me" (Psalm 30:1-2). After nine months of leg pain which increased in frequency and severity whenever I stood or walked, and after a progression of unsuccessful treatments including chiropractic, medication, physical therapy and a steroid injection in the spine, God gave me relief and healing two weeks ago (June 1998) through the skillful work of Houston neurosurgeon Dr. Rob Parrish who removed a herniated disk in a two-hour surgery. I went home the same … [Read more...]
SLEEPING AND WAKING
Did you ever notice that things we call "natural" are those to which we have grown accustomed? Meanwhile, we reserve the term "supernatural" for events which are unusual, extraordinary, infrequent or which we cannot explain. Following such reasoning, many Westerners since the Enlightenment watched the "supernatural" shrink in direct relation to the increase of calculated human observation and organized descriptive thought concerning the world around us -- in other words, with the rise of modern science. I want to go the other direction. Everything God does is "supernatural," for, although … [Read more...]
OUR FINITE YEARS
When we stop and reflect on it, for most of us life on earth in this mortal body is incredibly good. How can we begin to measure the beauty of God's creation, the joys of loving relationships, the satisfaction of accomplished dreams -- all this in worshipful fellowship with the Creator himself every waking moment? For the Old Testament people of God, this was essentially enough. Until Jesus personally entered the realm of gravedom and came back with the keys in his hand, it was the best anyone knew for sure. We always knew that the number of our earthly years were finite, but this knowledge … [Read more...]
COUNTING BLESSINGS
It is 10:00 a.m. and we are at our church's meeting place. Looking around at the brothers and sisters present for worship, and remembering some others not there, I reflect on so many blessings which I must not ever take for granted. Gayle smiles sweetly from her wheelchair. Cerebral palsy left her unable to shake hands but it can't stop her from touching hearts. "Thank you, God, for a body that works." My dear friend Eddie is not here today. Not yet middle-aged, his brain seizures since an apparently minor automobile collision have grown more frequent. A licensed CPA and father of three, he … [Read more...]
REVERIE ON A WALK
I am using vacation days from work this year-end and part of my loose agenda includes taking some walks around the neighborhood. My life is largely sedentary, though I do manage frequent lunchtime strolls at a mall throughout the year. The weather this evening is perfect for a T-shirt hike in Houston -- 70 degrees temperature with 81% humidity and 16 mph winds from the Gulf of Mexico to our southeast. The 35-year-old subdivision where we have lived since 1982 was carefully engineered with major intersections marking quarter and half-miles. My trek today encompasses a mile-and-a-half. Red … [Read more...]
