St. Francis' Episcopal Church

Serving Eureka, Wildwood, and Surrounding Communities

Take Good Care of Yourself

Just before Christmas, I was stunned to learn of the death a week earlier of the actor, John Spencer.  I was an early fan of the TV show, The West Wing, on which he played White House chief of staff, Leo McGarry.  Of course, I knew nothing about John Spencer except that he was pleasing to watch. He had a knock-out smile.  He seemed to add to the good in the world rather than take from it.  By all accounts, he was a decent human being and a friend who will be missed.  He was only 58 years old.  That made me sit up and take notice because that’s just 6 years older than I.  He died of a heart attack. 

In an interview in 2002, Mr. Spencer explained that he’s been smoking cigarettes since he was a teenager.  Acknowledging his addiction, he said that he’d tried to quit many times but was unable to beat it.  I don’t know what caused the heart attack, but we know that smoking leads to heart disease. 

All this is by way of saying to you who read this:  please take a look at risk factors in your life and do something about at least one of them this year.  The beginning of a new year is a time when we make resolutions.  Sometimes we even keep them.  I’d like to suggest that you look at your health, and do one thing to try to improve it.  If you haven’t had a physical lately, get one.  Ask your doctor what you might do to maintain or improve your health—ask him or her to be honest with you—and then try to do it. 

Most of us could eat better, more healthy diets.  If the government is to be believed, we all need more exercise.  I don’t want to dump guilt on anyone, but let’s face it.  We all pretty much know when we’re doing something detrimental to our well-being.  This year, try to stop.  But add something that increases your well-being. 

So often we say that we can’t work on improving our health because we don’t have time.  Mothers particularly say this.  But if you spend all your time on your children now, are you running the risk of not having time with your grandchildren?  Or if you deplete all of your physical resources now, will you have none left for yourself when the kids are off and on their own? 

In a colleague group, I once complained that I didn’t have time to work out.  One of the priests, now retired, explained that he’d had a heart attack while actively serving as rector of a local parish.  He said to me and any who’d listen, “You don’t have time not to work out.” 

St. Paul sent health advice to his protégé, Timothy.  We also have his words as advice to us, “Don’t you realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?”  When I was 33 years old, I felt called to serve God as a priest.  That was also the year I began jogging.  It occurred to me that, if I was to serve God, I’d like to do it for as long as possible and in good health.  I’ll admit to being sporadic about the exercise—I’m in a positive phase at the moment.  But committing to do this for a higher purpose than vanity or even personal wellness seems to help me stick to it.  As a disciple of Jesus Christ, you are part of God’s plan to bring the good news into the world.  If you can’t make yourself get or stay healthy for yourself or your family, how about doing it for God?