Every Beat

One life.  We only get one life.  What we choose to do with it is truly up to us.  Have you ever stopped to listen to the beat of your own heart?

What is your heart telling you?  Not only does our life depend on the beat of our heart daily, but the state of our heart is key to how we are doing spiritually, mentally, and emotionally.

According to the American Heart Association, our heart (on average) beats about 100,000 times every day and pumps about 2000 gallons of blood in twenty-four hours.

The facts are amazing to think about.  Simply how God wired our physical bodies is almost too much to comprehend.  I believe we are all so blessed even in a day in time when so much is going on and countless folks around us are dealing with so much.

I don’t know what you’re facing today.  I don’t know what may be causing you stress.  I’m not sure if you’re feeling good overall, or if you feel you could be better.

I know one thing is certain.  Each beat of our heart is a gift.  A true blessing, because none of us know when our last breath may come.  To stop and think about the intricate makeup of our bodies and how tightly woven everything is, leaves me speechless.  Our heart muscle beats and pumps blood throughout our bodies, and in turn, signals get sent for every action we take.  It all requires work in tandem to function properly.

God designed our bodies to do this and our hearts to beat on their own.  We cannot stop or start our heartbeat on our own.  

With God, I don’t believe in coincidences.  I believe things in our hearts or minds are there for a reason.  So I don’t believe it was a coincidence that when I originally started working on this blog piece about being thankful for every heartbeat, I learned that an immediate family member suffered a massive heart attack.

I was writing about being thankful for something I honestly had never put much thought into and God showed up to teach me otherwise.  Isn’t that how He always works?  Not that I took my physical health for granted daily, but He brought me back to my knees and to Him.

I’m not sure about you, but I’m one of those “control freaks.”  I like to fix things and take care of things so it’s done in the way I want them to be done.  Something I am working on because, in moments like this, I move further away from God instead of closer to Him.

I’ve been reminded that I need my relationship with God on my good days just like I do in tough moments.  God desires for us to have a close relationship with Him all of the time.  I have found that I am the One who strays, God has not and will not ever leave me.  I don’t want to rely on God just when life spirals out of control around me.  I want my relationship with God to grow on my good days so that it will sustain me through difficult times.

I challenge you to do a heart check.  How are you doing today?  Choose today to be thankful, even if you’re barely holding it together.  Trust that God is as close to you as each beat of your heart.

Philippians 4:4-7 - New International Version

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.