Wake Up Call

I witnessed something Friday that profoundly affected me.  I still can't shake it.

For the past several years, my wife and I have taken a few days after the holidays to get away, just the two of us, to rest and re-connect before another year begins.  This year we went to Puerto Rico.  Just to relax.  Eat.  Sleep.  Talk.  Read.  Do nothing.

I was laying on the beach Friday, reading a book, when a major commotion began just to my left.  As people ran to see what was going on, it became clear that a man was in some kind of trouble.  A doctor and a nurse happened to be there, and it was a blessing because the man had just suffered what seemed to be a heart attack. 

His wife was hysterical.  His friends began weeping.  He was rushed away as we all stood by, dumbfounded.  He looked about 60 years old.

This shook me up, mostly because my dad has had 5 heart attacks and my mom and grandfather died from cardiac arrest.  I walked back to my chair when the man beside us on the beach began telling me his story.  He showed me and Charie a giant scar down the middle of his chest.

He said he was 44 years old, overweight and under tremendous stress, when he had his first heart attack.  He survived and as a result he changed his lifestyle, lost 100 pounds, began running and eating right, and working less.  Now, at age 62, he was alive and well, vacationing with his wife and working a job he loves. 

In that moment I saw a vision of what my life could become.  I love to work, I love to eat, and life in full-time ministry is filled with stress and anxiety.  I imagined what it would do to my wife and children if, in 5 years (at age 44) I were to have a heart attack.  Then I imagined what their lives would be like if I didn't make it. 

Praise God, my health is wonderful.  My heart is strong and young, I work out regularly and eat healthy.  Yet all of that could change.  If I don't stay vigilant then bad habits will creep in and wrap their tentacles around my mind and body.  No one plans to have a life-altering health episode, but they happen nonetheless, and often.

I ask you...based on your current lifestyle and daily habits, what are you setting yourself up for?  A long life spent living for the glory of God and the good of your family, or an early departure from this world where there is so much work to be done for the gospel?  Do you need to make some changes right now?

The length of our days and the quality of our lives are all the result of our habits.  We live or die by them. 

Are there some habits you need to change to increase the odds of living longer, and better, for the glory of God?