Listen to the audio version Jane’s essay.
The picture before me was phenomenal! It stirred in me a sense of awe & wonder that left me momentarily speechless in contemplation. Our Creator is truly amazing! I was trying to take in the reality of the details. No, I wasn’t at an art gallery, viewing photography or personally inspired paintings & drawings. I was in the cardiology office, watching all 4 chambers of my Honey’s heart, pumping beautifully in sync.
A HEARTBEAT AWAY
The sonographer, who was viewing Steve’s post-treadmill ultrasound pictures, kept repeating herself. “These pictures are wonderful! They’re so good. This is great!” An echocardiogram shows the size, structure, & movement of the heart valves, septum, and walls of the heart chambers. It also measures the blood flow throughout the heart. I found myself staring, almost trance-like, while contemplating the infinite wisdom of the Source of Life. HOW did God think of these details? I quietly responded, “That’s just amazing!” It’s not like Steve hadn’t done this test before. But the tech’s enthusiasm was contagious. And she had our full attention. After we were finished with the stress test & waiting for the doctor, I said, “I’ll NEVER understand how a doctor can know the human body & still choose not to believe in God.”
In that interim period, I had an unction to calculate Steve’s lifetime cumulative heartbeat, based on his present 72 beats/minute. I picked up my phone, opened the calculator app & worked the equation: 72 x 60 (4320 beats per hour) x 24 (103,680 beats/day) x 365 (37,843,200 beats/year) x 69 (2,611,180,800 beats in Steve’s present lifetime). Ok, please agree with me that seeing those numbers blows your mind…just a little bit! This number is always increasing. Your heart doesn’t take a “breather.” It doesn’t rest. It pumps every minute, of every hour, of every day, of every week, of every month, each year that we live. After seeing those 4 rhythmical chambers clearly, & perfectly, in motion, I just shook my head at the tally!
Truly, this is a regularly overlooked detail, in our minds, on any given day. We rarely think about it. Unless a heart stops beating. I live amazed at God’s design, His creativity, & His faithfulness to keep our bodies functioning. We are fearfully & wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13-16) That’s a Truth we often take for granted unless something physically malfunctions, acts up, or permanently changes our lives. Then, God captures our attention in that moment. My mind cannot quite fathom the wonderous miracle of our beating heart, from conception until our last breath. We are always one heartbeat away from Home. It’s God’s call as to when that is. (Job 14:5) But in the meantime, can we just pause once-in-a-while, in holy appreciation for the daily care, & physical attention, that our Creator gives us?
Our mortal bodies are a walking textbook in the school of learning to trust. In His infinite love, creativity & wisdom, our heavenly Father fashioned each one of us for His purposes. (Some folks have yet to acknowledge this first lesson.) If God designed & oversees the unseen requirements for our bodies to stay alive, how can we doubt that He is trustworthy? Logically, can we not believe Him with everything that concerns us? With people we love? In the hard places? In unknown outcomes? Honestly, I think it’s probable that we don’t ponder these realities because we have an exaggerated sense of self & a lacking perception of WHO HE IS. The Biblical says that we are a vapor. Poof! We could be gone at any moment. (James 4:14) Sobering & humbling, isn’t it?
I once cross-stitched a mini sampler that said, “Take time for the little things.” That is so true! Strong relationships & wise decisions are built on a steady accumulation of seemingly insignificant, but truth-based, choices. Each adds, or takes away, to make forever differences.
Thankfully, in Christ Jesus, God provides for all our needs. “God’s power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowing the One who called us to his own glory and goodness.” (2 Peter 1:3, CJB) The creation of our bodies is His ever-present reminder of this Truth.
#10 A Heartbeat Away