BRONCHITIS

Reading: Psalm 103:13-18

“Bronchitis”

    For the past several weeks I have been wrestling with bronchitis.  At first I simply thought it was allergies (Pennsylvania is not a good place for people with allergies) and treated this with over the counter remedies.  When that did not succeed, I went to my physician and received the true diagnosis along with the proper antibiotics.  He promised noticeable results in three days, admonishing me to return if those results did not develop on schedule.

     The meds appear to be working.  I am now no longer coughing incessantly, which has vastly improved my ability to sleep and begun to restore my energy level.  The coughing needed to stop. It’s tough to preach or teach or counsel when you launch into a five-minute coughing fit at a teachable moment.  Plus people become more concerned about “catching something” than hearing the Spirit through you.  The energy level needed to improve because I don’t get a lot accomplished working 3-4 hour days.

     My energy level is not returning as quickly as I desired, which I am told is to be expected given the nature of bronchitis and my age.  Nonetheless, it is frustrating because in ministry you cannot always say, “Say two prayers and call me in a week for an appointment.”  Even ten days later, I’m still in lower gear.  And just when I thought I was at 90%, two Sunday morning sermons pretty much wore me out.  I am scheduled to lead a mission trip beginning Saturday.  I have already designated someone to fill my role on the field if my energy level remains low.  At the “nagging” of some prayer partners, I’ve cancelled an evening class or two this week to be sure I stop in the day when my body says, “STOP!”

     I am not a particularly good patient because I fret over what I’m not doing when I am forced to the sidelines and because I tell myself I am better even before I am.  And at age 60, I wrestle a bit more with my mortality and limits that have to be adjusted since I am not 45 anymore.  And although I know I am not indispensable, I tend to act is if I am.  It’s an occupational hazard of more than one leader or clergy type.

     Yet God is the first to remind us of our mortality.  " ... for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more."

      If we recognized our mortality, we would all be better stewards of the bodies and the lives the Lord has given us. We would also accept the seasons of life that are part of God’s plan and live in keeping with that season instead of acting like we can sprint from birth to the grave.

     And if we recognized our mortality, we would not treat our eternity so casually.  We would understand that we don’t have forever to turn our lives over to God.  We would recognize that we need to redeem the days of this life instead of putting off to tomorrow what God intends to be done today.  Eternity has a troubling way of arriving sooner than we anticipate and that tomorrow sometimes is not available to us to get things right with God.

© 2011 by Stephen L. Dunn

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