How to Enjoy Good Health
We take good health for granted–until we lose it. As a child my mother brewed endless cups of tea–milk and sugar–to soothe my sore throats.
When I was in fifth grade, a strep throat turned into rheumatic fever. The doctor visited our house a couple times a week. “Submerge,” he’d say, and I’d flip onto my tummy so he could poke a needle of penicillin into my backside.
I wasn’t allowed to walk, so I stayed put on a pull-out living room couch for three months. In subsequent years I had my tonsils removed twice (they grew back) and finally outgrew my tendency to host sore throats.
Treasure Your Health Because Your Health is a Treasure!
“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you even as your soul is getting along well.” – 3 John 1:2 (NIV)
I write that verse on get-well notes. It feels good to feel good. But how do we mine for the treasure of good health?
Do What You Can for Yourself.
Suffering and sickness may stem from lifestyle choices. I grew up on a Pennsylvania Dutch meat-and-potatoes diet with lots of pies and cakes. Once I developed high cholesterol, I learned to skip the bacon and limit desserts.We also live in a world fraught with germs, accidents, and abnormalities. But we can wash our hands often and carry cleansing wipes. We can drive carefully. No distractions allowed.
We can get those annual checkups. It’s inconvenient, but so are hospital stays if we neglect to care for ourselves.
Do Get Help If You Need To
Doctors are my friends. When I was 37, my gynecologist called me following a biopsy. I stood by my kitchen wall phone, staring at the yellow-and-orange-patterned wallpaper, when he broke the news. “Shirley, you have early cancer.”
Here I was with two little boys and dealing with the grief of losing our only daughter following childbirth. However, my doctor and God saw me through that experience. I am a cancer survivor.
Do Display God’s Glory No Matter What
If we’re well, we can praise God for good health. If we’re sick, we can trust God as we wait for healing, however that may come on earth or in heaven. Even the apostle Paul dealt with what he called a thorn in the flesh.
“Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
I live in an independent apartment above an assisted living center. I dare say all of the residents of the center deal with health issues. So in closing, I simply repeat: Treasure your health because your health is a treasure.
Questions for Reflection:
- What one step might you take to enjoy better health?
- How might you display God’s glory no matter your health status?
