Are You Plugged In?

 

10 Apr 2016 — Charleston Gazette Mail 

Are You Plugged In?

By Peggy Toney Horton

          A year ago, an unexpected illness forced my husband to have major surgery. When the doctor informed us it was necessary, I was terrified, but Mr. H. was as cool as the other side of the pillow. In the days leading up to surgery, I worried and fretted and lost sleep but he was not concerned.

This was serious.

Throughout his life, he rarely went to the doctor, and he didn't have periodic tests like blood work or colonoscopies. Therefore, I feared that, as testing progressed, the possibility that something life threatening might surface was real.

Although he had always enjoyed good health - except for painful arthritis - there are so many things that can go wrong, and, in most cases, early detection is key to overcoming them.

One day I asked, "How do you stay so calm knowing what you have facing you? Aren't you the least bit worried?"

"No," he said.

"How do you manage that?" I asked.

"I always assume everything will be all right," he said.

Oh, how I envy his ability to stay calm no matter what life throws at him. I'm a world-class worrier. I learned it from my mother, who was an expert. But worrying is a choice, and we can choose not to do it, especially if we're fretting about illness.

Think about it.

When electrical equipment malfunctions, the first thing we do is check to see if it's plugged in. In the same way, when we experience dysfunction or disease in our body, we must check to see if we're "plugged in" to God.

If we are harboring grudges or unkind thoughts, we let them go. If we have given power to beliefs of discord or sickness, we disconnect from these thoughts and reconnect to truth. Once established in right thinking, the light of truth can heal and transform us. But we must do our part.

Each of us has been given a wonderful gift - the gift of a physical body made in the image and likeness of God. It is the housing for our spirit and soul. We show our gratitude for this gift by treating it with love and respect.

The body is a holy temple - a divine creation - and we partner with God in caring for it. We energize it with healthy food and beverages, strengthen it through exercise and bless it with affirming thoughts and restful sleep.

Although our well-being is enhanced by what we take into our bodies, healing is generally from the inside out. Therefore, we should turn within in prayer and meditation to affirm health and wholeness and cease all concern about what could be wrong with our body.

My husband has been blessed with the capacity to do this. He expects the best outcome in every situation, never speculating on unpleasant possibilities.

I still have a ways to go.

"So long as there is disease in your thoughts, there will be disease in your body. Only when your mind is at rest can your body build health. Worry is an actively destructive force. Anxiety produces tension and tension is the road to pain. Whatsoever you sow in your secret thought-life, that shall you reap. Sow praise and you shall reap joy and well-being and a strong faith." - Frances J. Roberts

Peggy Horton lives in Nitro and may be reached at pegylu@suddenlink.net.

 

"Are you plugged in?" Charleston Gazette Mail 10 Apr 2016: B6