For the first time in my life, I’ve been having health issues. It was nothing serious, but just enough to be aggravating.
The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, has been very helpful with my medical issues. She arranges all of the medicine I’m supposed to take every day, otherwise, I probably wouldn’t take any.
She often asks me, “How are you today?”
I look at her, smile, and say, “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not fine. Now take your medicine.”
Obviously, she doesn’t think I’m fine, but I guess I’m fine with that.
Before I had these health issues, I went to my doctor every year for a checkup. Every time I went, he ended the session by saying, “Somebody your age should have something wrong with them.”
He was always trying to find something wrong with me. It’s a good thing I wasn’t seeing a psychiatrist.
I remember something happening at one of my yearly visits. It was on a Monday, and the day before, I had an episode of shingles on the right side of my body. At the time, I didn’t know what it was.
When I went to see the doctor, I showed him some of the marks on my right arm, and I’ve never seen him so excited.
He said, “Let me examine that. Something must be wrong.”
After his examination, he said, “You’ve been hit with shingles.”
That was more than five years ago, and it seems my health has gone downhill since, just enough to be aggravating.
I had a heart attack and a stent put in. Then I had a COVID episode that kept me locked in my house a week.
Last week, I had a six-month appointment with the cariologist. I had some tests the previous week, and he was going to review them at this visit.
He went through all of the regular processes, examined my report, and finally simply said, “Sir, you are good.
I looked at him and said, “What did you say?”
“I said, you were good.” Looking at him and then back atMartha, who was with me, I said, “Doctor, could you repeat that last word so my wife can hear it?”
He looked at me, my wife, and then laughed and said, “good.”
I looked over at Martha, who was not smiling, and said, “My dear, did you hear what the doctor said? Do you need the doctor to repeat it?”
Looking at me with no smile, she said, “I heard everything.”
As we left the doctor’s office, I smiled and said as I walked out, “I’m good.” Let’s see how Martha can handle that one.
For many years my favorite Bible verse has been from Proverbs:
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”
— Proverbs 17: 22
I realize there are many problems in life, but my focus should not be on that, but on the God who is bigger than any problem I might have. My faith in God creates a merry heart in my life.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected].
