photo & graphic: Martha G. Brady
there is a gift
we take for granted
until we no longer have it.
the gift of health.
not only physical health,
but mental, emotional, spiritual health as well.
physical or mental illness tend to get our attention the most.
we chafe when we are slowed down by a cold or the flu.
“why has God allowed this illness?”
i don’t have time for this.
then, we have the serious things.
cancer, heart attacks, strokes,
major surgeries, scares of all kinds.
we find we have to make the time…
to pause, even to change.
we pray and hope the really serious things
won’t happen…especially to our children or spouses.
we don’t want them to happen to us either, but when they do,
we are in something of a bubble…at least for a time.
it has been good to read of people
going through serious, terminal illness.
people who have a deeply rooted, Biblical theology
that doesn’t ignore the hard parts of life! stop
it isn’t easy to watch them fade away.
but their words are a gift as well
for those of us who don’t always do sickness, suffering and hard well.
recently, with my husband’s stroke,
we have been reminded of what a gift physical health is.
we do take it for granted.
a few years back, i went through a four year bout
with sickness of the neurological sort.
the seizures wouldn’t stay under control like i was used to.
my life wasn’t normal.
i had no independence.
i couldn’t drive.
i was losing hope that i ever would again.
suddenly, a solution was found…after four years!!!
the gift of health was given back.
it has been almost 10 years now.
occasionally, i take it for granted…
but not as often as i once did.
GOD is good…in sickness and health.
in good times and bad.
He is faithful and He is a rock!
Blessed be His name!
Oh how true Martha! We do take our health for granted until we lose it. And yes God is indeed faithful!
i couldn’t have said it better myself tara:)
Martha, I can’t thank you enough for your words this week. I struggle with chronic ill health both physically and mentally. It’s so very draining. Yet I continually the truth of what you write: “He is faithful and He is a rock! Blessed be His name!” I would get rid of this pain in a heartbeat if I could, but I would not even think of trading the depth and intimacy I’ve gained in my relationship with the Lord.
thanks for your note marie. it is a tough call isn’t it? to realize that your suffering and GOD’s presence in your life to redeem it is great! blessings as you continue to grow in grace and mature in your faith in these times of suffering.
I hear you! All too often we ignore the fact that health is a gift. I hope you and your hubby are adjusting to the changes, and that each day gets a little easier and you have time to relax and look at the other gifts our Father surrounds us with!
thanks anita. yes, life is settling into more of a routine…sort of. just when it looks like it is, he gets sick again. seems to be doing ok now so i hope the scheduling thing is going to progress for now.
It’s so easy to take our health for granted, isn’t it? I realized a year or so ago that my good health so far has been the result of good genes and not because of the way I was taking care of myself. So I’ve made some changes and feel so much better!! Thanks for the reminder not to backslide! 🙂
so true holly:) we have some things we can control and others we can’t. gaining control over the things we can and caring for our bodies is certainly important…i say that as i struggle to lose 20-30 pounds that won’t budge!
Yes, that’s the true battle: do we really believe God is good when things in our lives are hard? It’s so tempting to accuse, to demand, to defame… and yet his Father’s arms are waiting for us to run to him in our distress and know him near. We too often want healing and physical comfort more than his presence… and forget what a miracle that is, that we even know him and have access to him like this. Thank you for your post that puts us back in a right perspective.
thanks ruth. glad you stopped by. sounds like you have been there before! 🙂
Thank you for this reminder. We found out 5 yrs ago that my sister has NF2, a rare “disease” that causes non-cancerous brain/spine tumors. She’s lost her hearing and is developing paralysis on one side of her face bcs of the tumors. I never once gave physical health a second thought until it hit our family. Since, I’ve been learning that each day is a gift, our health is a gift, and like you said, “God is good…in sickness and health.” Just have to keep looking at Him.
amy, i didn’t give physical health a lot of thought…apart from my job as a nurse that is, until health issues hit close family members at unexpected times (not old age). i.e.my father’s first indication of heart disease was his sudden death of a heart attack at age 54! he wasn’t overweight, was active, healthy and had played tennis only a week before!
it’s those surprises that get our attention along the way for sure. we wake up to new realities in life that we never had to think about. were they there before? yes, for sure. but we lived our lives leaving them in the corner, pretending they weren’t there…a little like a pile of dirty clothes:(
then we wake up…and GOD is present when we do:)