[learn_press_profile]
Barry loved the gift that he got from his mom for his birthday last year. She could tell that he really loved the watch that she got through work, but that was not something they would normally spend that kind of money on. But because she had been working a lot of overtime lately and had not been around as much as she, and he, liked, she thought it might be worth it. Feeling a little guilty, she decided to spend a little extra as a thank you for his understanding and an apology for being away so much. The reaction he gave when he opened the gift was worth everything to her.
Because they had time, they were able to have the important conversation about how to take care of something that is so expensive. Barry understood and promised that he would take great care of the watch – he would keep in clean, keep it charged, keep it synced to his computer, and do the maintenance that is needed to keep something with all of those working parts in order. They also talked about how the watches tracked their activities so they could compare how active they were and see where each other were at all times.
Barry was determined to take good care of his new watch, but before long he started to forget things. The watch still looked great, he kept it quite clean, but he ignored a few other things. There were days where he forgot to charge the watch and it would die in the middle of the school day. He added too many apps to the watch, so the function got frustratingly slower. After a while he wasn’t syncing the watch to his computer so it was not able to do all the things that it normally would.
His mom began to notice because she couldn’t see where Barry was when the watch died. And they couldn’t compare how active they were because he wasn’t connected to the computer. So, she asked him if he was wearing it every day. He said yes and that he loved his watch. “Are you taking care of it?” she asked. “Of course, Mom!” and he showed her how clean the watch was and how good it still looked. But she couldn’t see the other problems that were developing because he wasn’t taking care of it and soon the watch would not be nearly as nice as it once was.
Obviously, this isn’t about Barry and his watch. It is about us! It is about our health. We have been given an amazing gift – the gift of life. The creation story teaches us that God breathed his breath into men and women, so each breath we have is a gift from God! We are gifted with the assurance of God’s love and healing touch. Through Jesus we have been given the gift of new life, of eternal life, and in that new life, we are invited to thrive. We are also promised the presence of the Holy Spirit to be with us wherever we go, who gifts us with the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness and self-control. The reconciliation we find with God through Jesus also reconciles us with each other, creating the gift of a community, a family with whom we can do life together.
The problem is that we do not always take care of these gifts in the way that we should. We try to do too much and overload ourselves. We get distracted from the things that keep us healthy and we pursue unhealth in our lives. Some of us do a great job of caring for part of our health, but we ignore other areas. We might keep ourselves looking “clean” so others don’t see that we are not taking care of ourselves, but we ignore the things that will help us to thrive. We maybe take care of ourselves spiritually but let our physical health slide. Sometimes we don’t take care of our emotional well being and that effects other areas. Often our spiritual health gets pushed aside.
But, we have to remember that life is a gift. The Holy Spirit is a gift. The reconciliation we are given with God and with others is a gift and all of that needs to be tended. That is why we are preaching about being Fully Alive and Fully Healthy. All areas of our lives need to be brought under the care and nurture of God. That’s what you do with a gift you love.
