I knew the scenery was moving fast. Now I know why. I really am going downhill fast!

This will be one of those good news, bad news reports for this Wednesday, February 18, 2009. One year ago I was going about my own business teaching my Bible class when suddenly I flipped off the stage and wrenched my knee. This led to surgery, which led to a time of recovery, which led to a number of months of noticeable pain. Today, it is pretty much healed up but it is not exactly the same as it was before this incident occurred. But, to tell the truth, that outcome in reality is a good metaphor for how life itself works. The good news is that we are all still hanging around and able to read this blog. The bad news is that regardless of where you are in your journey, you most likely have already begun that downhill run.

What prompted all of this? I read an article yesterday from one of the London papers that went organ by organ to give a factual representation of how aging impacts our physical well being. Our brain begins its long-term decline in our 20’s. We start out with some 100 billion of those neuron things but begin to shed them at an increasing pace as we age. By the age of 40 we could be losing as many as 10,000 of these little jewels per day and in the process we create gaps that may eventually cause us some trouble with memory and co-ordination. Lung capacity also begins to wane at age 20. At age 30 one could most likely take in two pints of air with one breath but by age 70 that will be cut in half.

I won’t cover every body part listed but suffice it to say we are in decline in many ways as we continue our journey here. Our plumbing doesn’t work like it once did. The teeth, the eyes, and even our voices take hits over time. A woman’s voice tends to grow lower and huskier while men’s may become thinner and higher. I suppose if this were to happen to me I could try out for the Irish Tenors or something like that but by the time I’m able to reach the high notes I probably won’t be physically able to travel with the group. Might as well laugh, I did when I wrote that line. The heart is, of course, a biggie and it begins to unravel somewhere in our 40’s. We are talking averages here because we all know that genetics plays a big role as well as environmental factors and our own personal lifestyles.

In the end, I’m not discouraged after reading these things because they reflect the facts on average. I know there are many out there saying silly things like you are only as old as you feel and other nonsensical stuff. I choose not to be pessimistic or overly optimistic. I believe in having a realistic outlook based on the truth as best as it can be found and understood. Because as I see it, God has given us the life we have. Some of us take care of our physical well being better than others. Some of us take care of our spiritual well being while many do not see the need. Let me just point out that not taking care of the spiritual more or less makes the other a moot point anyway since we all will live for eternity, either with God or separated from Him. I’m banking on being with Him; therefore, the downhill ride is not so bad when you know exactly where you will end up! Amen. …..More later.