Babe, I'll be there sooner than I think.....

Only a couple of weeks ago, I was wondering out loud how wonderful it was that I haven't been sick in a long time. The flu fairies must have heard me. I got sick Monday before last, while I was painting (but of course) and by Tuesday (while I was painting, of course) I was fully-blown sick. It is now a week and a half later and I slept little last night because of all the coughing. 

Yeah, I know.... waaaaaaaah. Get over yourself.  We've all been sick, and I have been sick before. But this time I was more contemplative about it, ha! Ken happened to have taken off work a few days for our anniversary. He spent those days pampering me, bringing me hot soup and movies. Some vacation?!

I thought about people in my life who have really suffered.....struggling with cancer, a dying spouse, the death of a child, dementia. My Mom's good friend Elaine has deteriorated very far into Parkinson's recently. She called me one day, not too long ago, looking for my Mom. Her sentences were fragmented and she couldn't remember enough to make much conversation. My heart broke for her, as she was very dear to me. I used to enjoy getting her sassy opinions on things. She was smart, funny and wry in her observations. That part of her is gone now, but I remember her and hold those memories as precious parts of my life. She is not physically gone yet, but that is not long in coming. Even though her body is failing, her spirit remains and will go to be with the Lord, where she will see it all clearly and know freedom for the first time.

Our bodies just cave in on themselves, eventually. Some people grow old easily and then die gently, but it is highly unusual. When I was younger, I cringed at the hopelessness of it all. It seemed a travesty, to grow old and lose your function and dignity. People have fought it from the beginning of time. In this day, we cling to the fountain of youth like it's the gross national product. Well, I guess it is.

My body is aging, faster than it would naturally, because I am often bad to it. I eat the cheese instead of the green stuff. I throw caution to the wind way too often. Either way, I am aging. I feel the bones groaning, the elasticity fading. Sometimes getting out of a chair is plain embarrassing. 

The world is tainted with sin's fallout. My body is tainted with the same. But I pray that I will not be sorrowful for lost youth. I don't want to gaze back too much. Glance back, yes, be thankful, yes.... but continue to embrace the present, the moments that God gives me and us to savor while we can, and to look forward to any plans He has for our future. Old Dr. Denmark used to say that life is good, even if all you can do is look up to the night sky from a gutter. What a good perspective. Maybe that's why she lived to be 113 years old.