CONNECTIONS

NO-I did not fall off the face of the earth.  YES--I have been sick--for over a week now.  I keep thinking I have turned the corner to the Road to Wellness to only find myself stuck in the spiral of ill health.  My only forays into the world have been pilgrimages to the local pharmacy in a futile search for a miracle drug.  I slowly walk the drug aisle searching for the holy grail of relief--walking away with hands filled with hope-which is quickly dashed after only one dose.  I cannot even find the temporary relief  promised on each and every vial.  Dr. Son-In-Law finally wrote me that first script after 5 days of illness.  They miss their baby sitter---OH and the fact that one of the Child Wonders shared this with me.  I LIVE IN A PETRI DISH!

My body has turned on me!  I am under attack from within! I have become a mucus producing machine--with the clear intent of smothering me to death.  From the top of my head to the upper regions of my bronchial tube, a constant onslaught of attack leaving me gasping for breath or bent over in a wracking fit of coughing. The combined power of all my nose blowing alone could generate enough wind derived power to light a small city.  THIS IS NO FUN!

While tossing and turning in my bed of agony, I began to put all the clues together of how this happened.  When was the last time I was sick like this? Why am I not able to kick this off and return to the Land of the Living?  There is a common thread through each of the occurrences similar to this---Grief.  When my mother left us after an agonizing illness, I had this very same thing occur within two weeks, in the middle of trying to celebrate my precious niece's wedding. Several years pass and I am left alone, I dismantled my family's home and sold it and moved, I then spent the next nine months having this same reoccurring illness.  On a first name basis with all the staff at the nearest urgent care, they used my rear for target practice the entire time and became quite proficient at pin the tail on the donkey at the same time.  Now, I find myself in another period of intense grief, and SURPRISE--I am sick again.  WHY would I be surprised?  There seems to be a pattern forming here.  Intense grief brings intense illness.  My body refuses to fight and throws up the white kleenex of surrender as it allows the ravages of illness to have the upper hand.

What is the connection between the body and the soul?  There is no division between soul and body while in earthly form.  J.I. Packer says we are embodied souls and ensouled bodies.  When my soul sings with joy, so my body leaps with happiness.  When my soul is wrapped in the cloak of mourning, my body weeps in poor health.  Until our crossing the line into the realms of eternity, there is an mysterious and invisible cable connecting our bodies to our very being--our soul. The state of being is reflected from one to the other--a perfect mirror image of the good or bad.  

The question now becomes--How do I regain the state of wholeness in body and soul?  My only answer is prayer---and I am asking for healing and joy to reign in my soul AND body!

He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction.

Psalms 107:20