Day 38

Woo-Hoo!! TWO MORE DAYS!!! Actually, that's not at all true b/c this little shindig is actually more than 40 days long! But I am in the single digits now! 8 more days till Easter! To be honest though, the whole food thing hasn't even been a struggle for me lately. It's just become a normal, which is a really really good thing! I've lost 23 pounds, and that too is a really really good thing!! Just think how much more I will lose when I actually start exercising again! That, however, means I need to find some time in my days that can be devoted to me when the gym is actually open! That's a little more difficult. I no longer say "it can't happen", however, b/c these last 38 days have proved otherwise!

So, I've really been struck this week with the overall frailty of life, specifically our human bodies. Obviously our friends' death this week puts a notion like this in the forefront of my mind, but it's not the only reason I've been pondering it. I think of how after a major trauma to a body, common things more easily attack that same body. I think about how after only 30 years, your body starts aching and paining in a way that it never has before, as if you're actually getting old. At 30! I think of how we spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on getting well or making ourselves better, when it could all be gone in the blink of an eye. I wonder, would I have had that procedure or operation or test if I had known I'd only reap the benefits of it for _____ number of months or years? My answer is almost always, yes, b/c I'm just a hopeful, live to the fullest type of person.

But I also think, if our bodies are this weak, this fickle, and this temporary, we'd better be darn sure we're not just living for the here and now of where our bodies reside, because that certainly isn't anything to bank on or put stock in! There's no guarantee it will last. In fact, we know it won't. The question then is for how long? Whether I get 7 days or 70 years left on this earth, I had better be sure that I know why I'm here, what my purpose is, and get to actually living it out! Because once we're gone, our job here is done, not necessarily in the "completed" sense, but definitely in the "it's over" sense. When this body is done and gone, I want to be sure that I have done everything I could to bring those God put me in contact with to have had a chance to choose Jesus for themselves. Because the reality is, that when our bodies are done, it's not the end of our story. We'll be dealt with. But no longer will we be able to tell others' our story or ask them if they want to come with us. That part will be over. And though I can't wait for the part that comes next, I really want to be sure that the part I'm supposed to do now is actually getting done, and getting done well! So even though we often think of ourselves as invincible and with seemingly endless amounts of time still, our bodies are still frail things that will only last for so long. Are we giving enough attention and enough opportunities to the stuff that will last forever?