July 2017
From the Rector’s desk? In the last week I had a health scare. I guess I’m getting to the age where that might happen! The issue was my blood pressure. It got really noticeably high. I had to go into the hospital and get checked out. They did all sorts of tests, most of which involved poking me with needles. They also did a stress test on me. I had to ride a special bike until I got my heart rate up to a certain, really high, level and then I had to keep it there for a while. They put me in machines and scanned me. They did all sorts of things to me to test if my issue was a heart attack or heart related. In a few words; it wasn’t. All my numbers are either perfect or really good. My issue probably stems from eating too much salt and drinking too much caffeine, and maybe some genetics thrown in there for good measure. They weren’t even worried about my weight, although improving that should improve the other. This whole thing got me thinking about several things. First, acknowledging that I had a problem was difficult. I was really reluctant to do that. Nothing looked wrong. Nothing was sticking out of me or broken or otherwise visibly wrong. I just “felt” wrong. I had to admit something was wrong. It was almost like I had to convince myself that there was a problem. And then admit to someone else that I had a problem. These two things were way tougher than they should have been. Really, if you feel bad, you should just be able to say, “Hey, I feel bad. Now let’s do something about it.” But it’s not like that for some of us. Admitting something is wrong is a huge obstacle, I think, in part, because we believe that no one else will believe us. We think we’ll have to convince them of our problem. And really, that should be the farthest thing from our minds. The people we surround ourselves with just want the best for us, or they should. I have to remember to not let that fear be an obstacle to my wellbeing. And second, little things matter. For instance, salt… If
Our Staff & Vestry Rev, Anthony MacWhinnie, II, Rector Vestry: Chuck Barnett - Senior Warden Jim Warner- Junior Warden Beth Woods, Susan Early & John Velaski Twinette McDonald - Music Director Sally Putters - Parish Nurse
you had asked me if I ate a lot of salt in my diet on Friday of last week, I probably would have said “No.” But things changed on Saturday and I had to think about how I cook and not just for me, but for my family. That’s the scary part for me; my family. Incrementally through the years I’ve increased my/our salt intake. And coincidentally, my blood pressure was always just a little high… Not enough to alert the docs, but consistently… It was probably salt with the added kick of caffeine. Incremental changes can end up being big changes if you make them over the course of decades. So, it makes me wonder, what other things are like that? Exercise comes to mind. Doing a little less as time goes by means eventually you’re a couch potato. Prayer also comes to mind, and in a like manner. Maybe we can became prayer couch potatoes if we don’t keep after it. I have to ask myself, what else have I, or am I neglecting, not because I’ve rejected it, but just through incremental changes through the years? And what about you? If you gave up salt today, would it matter? If it would, then maybe you have the same problem I had. What else? Prayer, exercise, caffeine, blood pressure… What do you need to have a reset of in your life? What incremental changes are affecting you, your health, your wellbeing, and your family’s health and wellbeing? Think about it. You’re important. Anthony+
Screening Thursday, July 13 9 am—11:30 am
Provided by Sacred Heart Health System’s Mission in Motion