I enjoy speaking with older people because they help me “see” ahead. I have been drawn to them since I was a child and have often been fascinated by people’s stories. Stories and storytelling are ancient. Technology and social media are simply tools that enhance what comes naturally to us. Yesterday, I spoke with a friend who will be eighty in six months. She is always full of joy despite having been in chronic pain for more than twenty years. One of the things I appreciate about her is she does not downplay the extent of her ailment when people ask how she’s doing; instead, her response shows clarity, “I am well. My body may be giving me some trouble but I am well.” This older woman used the same phrase yesterday and this time, I really heard what she was saying because it reminded me about my own illness a few years ago. I know what it is to be weak and in agony yet be well in spirit. “For these light and momentary afflictions are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all,” she said, referencing II Corinthians 4:17. This sentence is found in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church. In the face of jail, beatings, ridicule, death threats, shipwrecks, and more, Paul’s perspective was the same as my friend’s.
Sometimes our physicality can lead us to believe that our bodies and the world we experience are are all that exist. The body’s constant demands and its gradual deterioration over time can bring with it an unrelenting heaviness. The bodies we live in are no more home than planet earth. We know this when we see the body of a loved one in a casket. We know that’s not them. Their true essence has departed its temporary residence. “We are spiritual beings having an earthly existence, “ I said when my friend asked why her words struck me differently this time.
“Exactly.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has set eternity in the human heart.” I often feel that tug like a gentle reminder that my body is no more home than the physical world around me. Although I have work to do while I am here, this is not my final destination. I think we often try to respond to eternity’s call with temporary things. As you can tell from some of my photos, I enjoy plants. I have dozens in my home; they allow me to be curious and enchanted without embarrassment. I also know that indoor gardening is my attempt to capture beauty which also hearkens back to God’s call for men and women to care for creation. My plants have also been a great help over the course of the pandemic because they gave me something to fuss over. With that said, I know I could purchase the most beautiful plants, maintain my relationships with loved ones, and work but never satisfy that inner tug towards eternity and God himself.
Selah.
Healing Joy Ministries 