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?

Day by Day

Day by day

Oh Dear Lord

Three things I pray

To see thee more clearly

Love thee more dearly

Follow thee more nearly

Day by day

(from the 1971 musical Godspell)

Yesterday was the first day of my week-long vacation. Instead of being able to relax and enjoy it, though, I had a full day. I knew that coming into this and had myself already stressed before it started.

I rushed around in the morning trying to get some housework and laundry done. In the afternoon my husband and I took my mother to visit my cousin who is in a nursing home 50 miles away. My 85-year-old mother’s health has been slowing declining over the last year, so we secured a wheelchair for her use. I was fearful that they would keep her at the nursing home.

After a nice visit with my cousin, we headed across town and down the highway 20 miles to the wedding of my niece’s daughter. The wedding was outside, the weather warm and muggy, and my mom was still in the wheelchair. On top of that, my niece’s family – well, they truly are a nice bunch, but they are a bunch so it is always interesting. And finally, my friend from Minnesota happened to be in the area, so at the last minute, I invited her to join us. It was no big deal, as the wedding was very informal, but it still made me feel weird.

So, all of this made for a stressful day, or I thought it would. I went in to yesterday feeling tense and basically unhappy. Why can’t I just have peace and quiet today, I asked myself. But it all turned out fine. I had a good day, got to visit with lots of people I haven’t seen in a while. And my wheelchair-bound mom, who I was most worried about, had a good day too.

Lord, thank you for all our days, whether they are good ones or not. Help me to remember that you are with me each and every day. And any unhappiness I feel in my days is from me and not from you. 

My sister and brother-in-law with their granddaughter and  her  new husband.

A nursing home is still a nursing home

Cross Cultural Solutions, the organization that I traveled to Peru with in 2009, offers several different volunteer options, ranging in duration from one week up to three months. Volunteers who are staying for a longer period of time are assigned to an area in which they are interested and their daily volunteer work concentrates on that, such as health care or teaching. Since our little group of four was only staying for one week we had the unique opportunity to experience a little bit of everything, by going to a different volunteer placement each day.

Our first day, we were assigned to the nursing home. It was a clean and efficient facility, men and women on completely separate wings. We worked on the women’s wing and when we arrived, they were all dressed and out in the courtyard for the morning. Just like the nursing homes back home, they were pretty much left to themselves until lunch. And if we hadn’t been there to try to entertain them, well, they would have had no entertainment. We played catch with them, colored with them and even danced with a few who were agile enough. One little lamb, carrying a plastic bag full of her stuff, told the staff worker who had brought us from our home base that she was waiting for the bus to take her to Lima. Sounded just like some of the nursing home residents I know.

And they were all so cute. And short. I don’t think any of them was over four foot ten. The native dress of the Peruvian women is multiple skirts and sweaters. And let me tell you, these ladies were layered up. They all wore hats too. Not just these women, but most of the older population who were out in the streets. Such a different culture.