The proper response to existence is gratitude

So I love quirky notes like this from readers:

Just a passing thought, to share:

Last week I had my medical exam, required by Australian immigration. It’s the final step in my becoming a permanent Australian resident.

I wasn’t TOO worried, but I haven’t had a medical exam in years, and I’m 46, so there was a possibility that I might have had some medical problems hitherto unknown to me.

Well, all the tests were negative. I passed. No infections, and my lungs and heart and kidneys etc are all in excellent shape.

But it reminded me of just how subtle, and how vulnerable, the Human body is. And mutatis mutandis, what a miracle the Human body is.

For some reason, the urine test was what really got me thinking. Because the urine test would show signs of kidney problems that have no symptoms, which are not uncommon at my age. (Again, my results were good, but the test DID get me thinking!) So while I was awaiting the results, I began to study how kidneys work. And, good GOD, the kidneys are just amazing! Do you know how they work? They’re full of a million TINY little vessels which somehow – I will say “miraculously” – know how to filter out useless chemicals from the blood, while KEEPING the good chemicals in the bloodstream! And they do it around once per second, every time the heart beats, and they do it for up to around 80 or 100 years.

And that’s just one organ. Good GOD! How can anyone believe (but do they really believe?) that the kidney is not QED proof of SUPERnatural intelligence?

And in light of the above – in light of the miracle of the kidney – the Body of Christ can be seen as a miracle per se. I mean the very fact that any Human body exists at all, is a miracle…

…and a reminder that we’re all made in God’s image, which is reason number one why it’s categorically evil to abuse ANY Human body.

Seriously, when I think this way, even my ability to piss looks like a miracle. (Gloss: John Paul the Great died when that particular miracle, the temporary miracle of being able to piss so he could cleanse his body of toxins, ended for him.)

Anyway, in sum, this has reminded me of how every moment of my existence is absolutely contingent upon God.

“The world will never starve for want of wonders, but for want of wonder.” — G.K. Chesterton