Renewed Day by Day

One of the most valuable gifts I received after my cancer diagnosis was a DVD set of talks by Dr. Richard Swenson titled "More than Meets the Eye." In a series of four lessons he blows our minds open with amazing truths about creation, then shows how the One who made it all is very well able to care for us--and, best of all, He wants to do so.

The first one is about the human body, "fearfully and wonderfully made." Here are a few facts he gives: the body has 100 trillion cells. Each cell has a trillion atoms. We turn over a trillion cells a day. ("Though outwardly we are wasting away, inside we are being renewed day by day" 2 Corinthians 4:19.) Our hearts beat on average 2 1/2 billio times in a lifetime, pumping blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels. Our ears have a million moving parts and can discern differences of sound by a factor of one trillion. Our brains weigh about 3 pounds, but hold the capacity of 25 million books. "The brain," he says, "must act humbly, or it will sabotage its own search." In subsequent sessions, he discusses relativity, space, time, light, and the cosmos. All equally amazing. And then he shows how reasonable it is that the One who created all this says to us "Do not be anxious about anything. Do not be afraid. Do not fret."

Coming at a time when the bottom had just seemingly dropped out of our lives, this DVD set brought hope and peace. So as I was preparing to come to Washington DC for this weekend with our daughters, I wanted to bring them a gift by which to remember this wonderful time together. A funny movie? A fragrance? A book? I settled on a set of "More than Meets the Eye" for each of them. I plan to give them today. They're probably too busy at this stage of life to watch them, but since they're human, sooner or later the bottom will drop out of their lives too. And I hope then they'll find them reassuring. (Ordered from cmda.org.)

We had a lovely day yesterday. Morning at the Eastern Market, lunch (gourmet meal) at Lisa's, afternoon at the Museum of American Art and Portraiture. This morning we'll go to her church (mere blocks from our hotel), and this evening we plan to take in a concert at the Kennedy Center--unless the ice storm materializes.

I appreciate Chuck's posting yesterday. In fact, I appreciate so much all the support he gives--and all of you as well.

Blessings,
Carol