Heart Problem
At 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing in at a cool 260 pounds, I don't need a doctor or nutritionist to tell me I'm fat. I get it. I can see the belly. I can feel the buttons on my dress shirts pull apart during wear. I leave an indention in couches.
When feeling adventurous, I take the stairs at work. I work on the 5th floor of an 8 floor building. By the time I lumber my husky frame to the platform on floor 5, I'm unable to speak through winded breath, and scenes from my childhood flash before my eyes.
One particular morning about a month ago, as I had my morning coffee and sat through my weekly bible study, my chest starting feeling very tight and I couldn't cool down. After our meeting, I climbed the five flight monster to my office and I was greeted by co-workers who encouraged me to go the E.R. I reluctantly agreed because if I'm being honest, I kind of thought I was having a grabber. I was convinced that stress and sweets had finally come calling. I just knew I had a heart problem at 37 years old.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, I immediately noticed the construction. As a side note, have you ever pulled onto a hospital property when construction isn't going on? Geez. Anyway, due to the construction, I had to park in the Disney parking equivalent of Goofy 74 (It was a long way from the entrance to the E.R.) How terribly unfortunate and ironic would it be to fight through stubbornness and pride, to go to the E.R., only to be found in the parking lot facedown with a Chick Fil A bag in hand? Oh, I should have mentioned, I stopped to get a chicken biscuit on the way to the hospital. Don't judge me. If I was being admitted, I knew good food would be scarce for some time.
Finally making it into the E.R., I started filling out a clipboard of questions. When asked by the nurse what brought me in today, I figured she wouldn't find the humor in, "just looking around." When I explained I was having chest pains, that ended the waiting in the "waiting room." I was rushed back, passed all the angry and judgmental looks of other "waiters." As the door closed from the actual E.R. to the waiting room, I thought about yelling back to them, "just say your chest hurts." That probably wouldn't have been appropriate.
For the next 8 hours or so, I was poked, prodded, and tested. I was even hooked up to a handful of sensors and made to run on a treadmill, in dress shoes...without my shirt on. That part may have been just to get laughs from the doctors and nurses in the room, rather than for legitimate medical purposes, but I didn't fall off the machine or quit mid run, so there's that little victory.
At the end of the day, and to my surprise, I was given a clean bill of health and some reading material to take home, which paraphrasing said, "stop being fat." I didn't/don't have a heart problem. Not in the traditional sense, which can be diagnosed by a medical doctor or lab test. I am guilty however of not always having a clean and righteous heart. I haven't always loved God with my whole heart. I haven't always loved my neighbor as myself. I don't always forgive my "enemies." Loving my family is easy (most of the time, sorry kids), loving those that hurt me, not so much.
The bible, and our world currently, are filled with stories of people with hardened hearts. Some might argue social media is largely a platform to share hatefulness and anger with others. Our hearts have become like concrete. Our conscious can hardly be shocked anymore. News of hurt, despair, and mass murder is often too much to bear. Luke, who was the author of the appropriately named book in the bible, "Luke," was a doctor. Luke shared with us the healing and miracles of Jesus. Luke tells us how Jesus cured a fever, rebuked demons, cleansed a Leper, caused a paralytic man to walk again, and he even raised a widow's son from the dead.
More important than physical healing in this life, our Father can cure a hardened heart and prepare us for His kingdom, which knows no sickness. We must however submit to Him knowing that alone we cannot overcome sin, death, and the devil, as His perfect son, Jesus, did. Being prayerful and drawing close to God can help us all overcome our heart problem.
Much Love, Adam
When feeling adventurous, I take the stairs at work. I work on the 5th floor of an 8 floor building. By the time I lumber my husky frame to the platform on floor 5, I'm unable to speak through winded breath, and scenes from my childhood flash before my eyes.
One particular morning about a month ago, as I had my morning coffee and sat through my weekly bible study, my chest starting feeling very tight and I couldn't cool down. After our meeting, I climbed the five flight monster to my office and I was greeted by co-workers who encouraged me to go the E.R. I reluctantly agreed because if I'm being honest, I kind of thought I was having a grabber. I was convinced that stress and sweets had finally come calling. I just knew I had a heart problem at 37 years old.
Pulling into the hospital parking lot, I immediately noticed the construction. As a side note, have you ever pulled onto a hospital property when construction isn't going on? Geez. Anyway, due to the construction, I had to park in the Disney parking equivalent of Goofy 74 (It was a long way from the entrance to the E.R.) How terribly unfortunate and ironic would it be to fight through stubbornness and pride, to go to the E.R., only to be found in the parking lot facedown with a Chick Fil A bag in hand? Oh, I should have mentioned, I stopped to get a chicken biscuit on the way to the hospital. Don't judge me. If I was being admitted, I knew good food would be scarce for some time.
Finally making it into the E.R., I started filling out a clipboard of questions. When asked by the nurse what brought me in today, I figured she wouldn't find the humor in, "just looking around." When I explained I was having chest pains, that ended the waiting in the "waiting room." I was rushed back, passed all the angry and judgmental looks of other "waiters." As the door closed from the actual E.R. to the waiting room, I thought about yelling back to them, "just say your chest hurts." That probably wouldn't have been appropriate.
For the next 8 hours or so, I was poked, prodded, and tested. I was even hooked up to a handful of sensors and made to run on a treadmill, in dress shoes...without my shirt on. That part may have been just to get laughs from the doctors and nurses in the room, rather than for legitimate medical purposes, but I didn't fall off the machine or quit mid run, so there's that little victory.
At the end of the day, and to my surprise, I was given a clean bill of health and some reading material to take home, which paraphrasing said, "stop being fat." I didn't/don't have a heart problem. Not in the traditional sense, which can be diagnosed by a medical doctor or lab test. I am guilty however of not always having a clean and righteous heart. I haven't always loved God with my whole heart. I haven't always loved my neighbor as myself. I don't always forgive my "enemies." Loving my family is easy (most of the time, sorry kids), loving those that hurt me, not so much.
The bible, and our world currently, are filled with stories of people with hardened hearts. Some might argue social media is largely a platform to share hatefulness and anger with others. Our hearts have become like concrete. Our conscious can hardly be shocked anymore. News of hurt, despair, and mass murder is often too much to bear. Luke, who was the author of the appropriately named book in the bible, "Luke," was a doctor. Luke shared with us the healing and miracles of Jesus. Luke tells us how Jesus cured a fever, rebuked demons, cleansed a Leper, caused a paralytic man to walk again, and he even raised a widow's son from the dead.
More important than physical healing in this life, our Father can cure a hardened heart and prepare us for His kingdom, which knows no sickness. We must however submit to Him knowing that alone we cannot overcome sin, death, and the devil, as His perfect son, Jesus, did. Being prayerful and drawing close to God can help us all overcome our heart problem.
Much Love, Adam
Bless your ❤️
ReplyDelete