Being in my 50’s wouldn’t be so traumatic if it weren’t for the sudden attention to body parts. I am a strong believer in preventative medicine. I eat healthy, get exercise, take my vitamins, and visit the doctor every year for a tune up. The tune ups keep getting longer and more complicated. In the last month I’ve had a mammogram, colonoscopy, thyroid test, lung xray, general physical with all its tests, and now a bone scan. Just to see if my bones are dying yet. It seems you hit 50 and they start looking for “stuff”…signs of falling apart. I’m getting lots of reading done in waiting rooms!
The reality is our bodies do wear out. I am so thankful that I am healthy. Wow, what a blessing. But it is a sure thing that this healthy body is going to wear out. It wasn’t built to last. It’s rather sobering that what is happening to our 15 year old car (“I’m sorry but it’s not worth fixing anymore.”) is going to happen to every one of us. It’s so strange how we age, but yet feel like the same person on the inside.
And here is my point in all this. I really want to keep my body healthy, and I will as long as I can, but it’s a done deal that it’s going to wear out. Thankfully I get a new one someday that won’t wear out. But my “heart”, now that’s something worth working on. That part of me that is somehow on the inside…connected to my body, but not dependent on it. I don’t mean my beating heart, I mean my soul heart.
I want to figure out how to keep my soul healthy, not just my body. Because my soul has every chance of not just deteriorating, but getting better every day. How cool is it that there is a part of me that is not going to deterioriate – if I don’t let it. I need to know how to feed and nourish my soul. Sadly I think I pay more attention to my body than my soul. Hmmmm…something worth changing.
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (corinthians)
