I live a lot of life operating from my head.
Writing.
Thinking.
Talking.
Watching.
Praying.
Avoiding the mirror.
Ignoring messages from
an achy neck
a throbbing temple
muscles begging to be noticed, used,
laboring under layers of insulation they long to throw off like ski pants in July.
There’s a false spirituality in the air
that elevates the soul above the body.
Bodies don’t matter, we arrogantly claim,
God cares only
for my heart
my soul
my mind.
We’re fools sometimes.
Because He became flesh
and dwelt among us.
It wasn’t His soul
symbolically nailed to the cross
it was His torn flesh
His pierced tendons
His sticky blood that poured and oozed and fell to the ground
suffering
suffering
suffering
to bring about our salvation.
In recent weeks
I’ve watched my husband struggle
to stand
to balance
to come to terms with a body afflicted, rebelling, refusing to take orders from his mind.
As if there has been a coup
and his flesh has dethroned his mind
and threatens to send his spirit into exile.
I freely wept as I watched our cat’s final breath
escape her body
like a quiet sigh
overwhelmed at how powerful life is
when it enters
and exits this world.
I stood in an ER, my arm around a mother
watching people she doesn’t know
ask her vomiting daughter
intimate questions
why did you do it?
how much did you take?
do you want to live?
what time did you decide to die?
as they stuck her with needles
drawing blood
injecting a cure
hoping for the best
preparing for the worst
her young body fighting to live
against the fleeting will of her mind and soul
as her mother appealed to a God
she wished had woken her a few hours earlier.
And I held a newborn
her eyes adjusting to life outside the womb
her accidental smile drawing
aahs from strangers
before it turned into a rooting pout
as she sought the solution to the ache in her tiny tummy
answering questions of her
older brothers
who don’t marvel at her
but only wonder if she will steal every minute of their mother’s attention,
drain every ounce of her energy
on which they rely
for which they long,
as if they worry that the perfume of her sweet infant head
will intoxicate their mother
as their musty sweat
all pencil shavings, dirt, and playground fumes
sours her on them.
And she is in another room
requesting help
to get her body, her soul, her mind
to work in congress
so she can quiet their concerns even while she welcomes this new child
into their tribe.
We are flesh and blood and heart and soul and mind.
We are His design
and He loves our humanity.
He rejects our sin
not our bodies
Jesus experienced a bodily resurrection
and so will all who follow Him.
Bodies are marvelous, complex, wondrous things
even in their messy frailty
sometimes because of their messy frailty.
And He blessed our bodies
by clothing Himself in one
from infancy to immortality.
He joined Himself to us –
to humanity
He is our kin
as much as our King.
The faith of the followers of Jesus Christ
is one of heart and soul and mind and strength
the original wholistic fusion
of body, soul, and mind
there’s nothing new age about this idea
it’s an ancient truth
formed in the infinite mind
of God.
The only path to wholeness,
to integration of our entire being,
is Jesus Christ
the way, the truth, the life.
He is the only God whose heart still beats,
whose scars we can touch,
whose tears we can feel
and taste
and whose breath imparts life
into us, His favored children.
Let that truth sink into your mind,
inspire your soul,
and animate the divine work of art that is your body.
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Yet more wisdom pours forth from you,Lori.
Know you and hubby are being lifted to our Father’s throne. I can’t begin to know the “why?s”, but I rest assured He knows, and that’s enough.
Lifting you both…
The thought of those prayers fuels my spirit, Cyn. Much thanks.
Amen.
Dude.
I’ve had this pain in my shoulder for a couple months. It wasn’t until the tingling was moving down my arm that I finally became willing to talk with the doc about it. We are fearfully and wonderfully made–these bodies are amazing, yet we give more care to our car at times.
Your words have humbled me…and I needed that. Thank you.
You’re very welcome.
So good, so true.
I’m praying for you.
thank you!
Very interesting and thoughtful. I liked the balance between the physical body and the spiritual and your very thought-provoking poetry. God bless you.
Thank you, Lou Ann. And welcome.
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Like the sweetness created from nectar in the bodies of laboring bees. Or the butterfly beauty escaped from a featureless mummy-like wrapping. Your words pour into being from a melting pot of experiences stirred by the hand of an almighty God who has provided you with vision denied to most.
May His blessing, and answers to your most ardent prayers, pour out upon you and yours with the same overflowing abundance as He has provided you with talents and gifts. My heart is always filled to overflowing by all that you share, and I cannot thank you enough for your offerings.
My prayers are ongoing before the Throne, and rooted in belief beyond miracles for you and your dear husband!
You are loved <3 <3 Sharon T
Deep, rich, poetic.
Thank you!