HEALTH and Wellness
We are not invincible
By Kay Panovec
When I was a child, I thought I was invincible. Strike that. I thought everyone I loved was invincible. And then, my mom was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.
I don’t know what it is like to be addicted to smoking but I do know what it is like to lose a parent when I so desperately needed one. Today I write not about smoking – but about taking care of your body, mind and spirit.
Like most children, I thought my mom was beautiful and smart. She took care of three kids, a husband, a house and she worked full-time as a nurse. My mother was the poster child of sacrificial giving. She would literally go without so that my brothers and I could have something we wanted. She gave her energy to her family and her work. She was awake long before I was and until she became so ill, I never remember EVER seeing her sleep. She rarely had time to exercise and although faith-filled, rarely attended church. She lived a stressful life but we were oblivious to it.
My mom died at age 47.
As we prepare this issue of Joining Hands, I have heard people talk about “listening to their bodies.” I wish she had listened more to hers. When the cough she had lingered for months, I wish she would’ve had it checked sooner.
As people in this issue spoke of taking time to rest, I thought of her working round-the-clock to provide for us and for her patients.
When I read the scripture from I Corinthians 6:19-20, I knew my mother had read this scripture too:
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.”
I just wish she would have practiced it more.
As people spoke of exercise and renewing their connection with God, I wished my mother had heard the same advice provided in such permission-giving, loving ways.
She has been gone for more than 30 years. To this very moment, I miss her desperately, but I know she is at rest … finally.
Please read this issue carefully and ask God to help you make a wellness plan for 2010. It’s not about resolutions it’s about making healthy choices. YOUR body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Honor God. 
