September 18, 2018 (Tuesday)
My blogs do not allow comments. As I read comments in newspapers and on the internet, I am shocked by some of the negative remarks which are quite vicious. My skin is thick enough to bear criticisms, even hurtful or harmful ones, but I’d rather not, so I just do not allow comments. My loss, perhaps, but let’s just leave it that way. If you know me, and want to tell me something, you can email me. And there’s always the telephone if you prefer.
Comments, however, are the accepted fashion on facebook. For the past several months I have been posting on facebook, and in that medium I gladly receive comments. I can tell by the response whether a posting has struck a chord in minds and hearts. Two of them seemed very popular a while back. One was about wild animals seen around the neighborhoods in Rockport. That one really was appreciated and some folks wrote about their own experiences. The other was about our amazing physical bodies that sometimes last a very long time. Quite a bit of interest was shown in it. Just in case some blog readers did not see it on facebook, I’m posting it here today. It starts with the next paragraph:
Sooner or later the aging of our bodies allows the development of a condition we cannot overcome, but until that happens, isn’t the strength and endurance of the human body remarkable?
The average human pulse rate is 72 per minute. At that rate, when a person reaches my age, the pump that keeps blood circulating has gone through its cycle over three billion times (72 X 60 X 24 X 365 X 87 = 3,292,358.400). How much blood is pumped depends on the size of the person, but an average is probably 1750 gallons per day. That means my heart has pumped more than fifty-five million gallons of blood throughout my lifetime until now. The entire circulatory system is incredibly complex.
There are other systems in the body and organs that do their work year after year, sometimes for more than a hundred years. Incredible, wouldn’t you say? Do you know of a piece of equipment anywhere that has been working steadily 24 hours a day for almost 87 years?
We’re not surprised when something finally breaks down or a disease strikes. In the meantime, however, isn’t it great to be alive? Isn’t it fun to contemplate God’s designs? As the Psalmist prayed long ago, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14 NIV).