March has arrived. I was on a trip for the first couple of days of the month and so didn’t even notice. But then last night sitting at home alone, once again, after having spent the last several days with people, I began to feel sad. I felt the let down and the house was still empty. And in my state of mind I began to realize that it was in March of last year that Jackie’s physical descent began to be manifest. At first it was just leg pain – maybe a hamstring. Then in rapid order the symptoms began to develop. We chronicled all that in our emails last spring and summer.
Author, Randy Alford, in his book entitled, HEAVEN, speaks of our approaching “peak” as our physical body begins to deteriorate. That certainly is opposite to the world’s value system, isn’t it? And then when we are resurrected we have hit our stride, our peak!
Most of us yearn to have the bodies we had in earlier years. The looks, the muscle tone, the energy, the memory, the stamina, the ease of movement, the relative lack of pain, few if any medicines, etc… Certainly, Jackie was a prime example of someone who diligently took care of herself. She exercised regularly, she ate healthy foods, and she kept herself neat and attractive. It was so hard to see her body decline and I miss her terribly for so many reasons and on so many levels. But actually, she has now begun to approach her peak. With the resurrection she will be at her prime.
Certainly, this truth doesn't remove all pain and sorrow related to physical decline and death, but perhaps if we were to begin to view physical decline as the approaching of the prime of life we wouldn’t worship youth quite so much in our culture and we would not have such a negative view of physical decline and death.
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42 So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. I Cor. 15: 42-44;
Author, Randy Alford, in his book entitled, HEAVEN, speaks of our approaching “peak” as our physical body begins to deteriorate. That certainly is opposite to the world’s value system, isn’t it? And then when we are resurrected we have hit our stride, our peak!
Most of us yearn to have the bodies we had in earlier years. The looks, the muscle tone, the energy, the memory, the stamina, the ease of movement, the relative lack of pain, few if any medicines, etc… Certainly, Jackie was a prime example of someone who diligently took care of herself. She exercised regularly, she ate healthy foods, and she kept herself neat and attractive. It was so hard to see her body decline and I miss her terribly for so many reasons and on so many levels. But actually, she has now begun to approach her peak. With the resurrection she will be at her prime.
Certainly, this truth doesn't remove all pain and sorrow related to physical decline and death, but perhaps if we were to begin to view physical decline as the approaching of the prime of life we wouldn’t worship youth quite so much in our culture and we would not have such a negative view of physical decline and death.
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42 So also is the resurrection of the dead It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. I Cor. 15: 42-44;
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