The picture of health

 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.  He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. Philippians 3:20-21 New Living Translation

The other day at work I was asked to attend a meeting to brain storm ways to bring a new model of health and wellness to our patients. One of our doctor’s had recently given a presentation to the community on the “circle of health” and the goal was to further that idea. To achieve proper health all these different factors are involved, such as weight management, proper nutrition and exercise. Other things such as your spirituality, stress management, outlets for creativity and having a purpose in your life are all equally important.

Because my brain never shuts down and I can take the tiniest tidbit and expound on it, I changed the circle of health to the hierarchy of health. It looks something like this.

*Person who is the picture of health –

is physically active, mentally sharp, emotionally stable,

eats right, gets enough sleep, enjoys their job, volunteers,

has a loving family, etc, etc (as if this person exists)

*Person who eats ok, works out occassionally, 
but has a lot of stress at home and at work

*The vast majority of us

*Person who smokes two packs a day

and eats most meals at McDonald’s

*Person in a vegetative state in long-term care

The question is where on this list is someone who has died. When I was first picturing this in my head, the first thought is to put a dead person on the very bottom of the list, right? That would be where a lot of people end up, people who are not saved, who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

For me and for other believers, I would put the dead on the top of the list. Except of course, those are people who are only dead by the world’s standards. As Christians we are on top of this list because we are very much alive in heaven. That is the only way this couch-potato, junk-food lover will ever get to the top of this list.

Lord thank You for giving us our human bodies, with all of the frailties and weaknesses. Thank You for making these bodies temporary and for providing us with the perfect bodies once we reach Your kingdom. Amen

The Windmill is legend in our town. No one can hardly wait for it to open in the spring to get the first ice cream cone of the season. There is a biking trail that takes you there from town. Can you really burn off those ice cream calories on a fourteen mile round trip bike ride?