Pressure Rising, Spirits Low

I used to joke with my first husband that I was an emotional barometer of our spiritual health.  Now I’m a physical barometer of the weather.

When the barometric pressure lowers or rises, my body complains.  A few more fibro complaints have surfaced with this recent weather system: headache, pain, skin rashes, and general malaise.  

I don’t particularly like being an emotional barometer of my physical health.  I’m trying to remind myself that this, too, shall pass.  It certainly reminds me what a very long string of feeling-good days I’ve had.  It reminds me how body, soul, and spirit are entwined.  And it reminds me to do my part and trust God for the rest.

I think of people who live with much more difficult health issues than my own and am reminded how much of a difference gentleness and graciousness can make, as opposed to judgment and condemnation.  We never know exactly how other people are feeling, so why not give them the benefit of the doubt?  The flip side is that, as Christians, we are called to love no matter how bad we feel.

The day before yesterday, there was a funeral in the small town of Plainville, Kansas.  The church was packed to overflowing with over 600 people in attendance.  A 37-year-old mother of five, Kristin Miller Rathbun, went home to be with Jesus after a long and courageous battle with cancer.  I barely knew Kristin, but from what I’ve heard, she wasted no time in self-pity.  Instead, she went about living her life and loving her family, friends, church, and community in such a way that she will be long remembered for her love and devotion to Christ.  I cannot even begin to comprehend the enormous hole Kristin’s loss makes in her family’s life.  

The only thing I do know is that God loves each and every person in this world, and He calls each one of us to be ambassadors of His love, even when the barometric pressure is rising.