The Heartbeat

   A year or two ago, I received my own doctor kit. But this one didn’t come in a bright pink case with six plastic instruments. Although I had such when I was younger, this examination set included only real instruments with glass and metal! Every piece could be used just like in hospitals! What a dream come true! I loved the sleek blood pressure monitor with its adjustable gauge and tubes. I used the otoscope to explore more in my siblings’ ears than I had ever seen before. Have you ever looked down the ear canal or throat with light and magnification? The reflex hammer and all the other smaller items also worked splendidly if I knew how to use them properly.

   But my favorite piece to this day is the stethoscope. It makes me feel so professional. It even has different sizes of diaphragms! Whenever I listen to my heartbeat, I’m awed by the faintest sounds that instrument can pick up.  Yet, I am even more amazed by the heart itself. It beats approximately 115,000 times each day, pumping 2,000 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels! What a powerful organ! Yet, it is only about the size of two hands clasped together.

   My heartbeat is living evidence of a Creator and of a faithful God, and He is the One who deserves the greatest adoration. I am at His mercy. He alone gives life and He can take it as He wills. He started my heartbeat over eighteen years ago and only He knows how many more years it will continue. Every beat is a reminder of His care.

    Two months ago, my grandma’s physical heartbeat ended. For seventy-nine years it throbbed steadily, but in one moment, it was snuffed out. Her heart had fulfilled its duty. A month later, my great-grandpa also passed away. Though my heart ‘quivers with these stark realities’ of life, I find strength in my Sustainer.

   One evening, I lighted my Peaches & Mint candle, snuggled under a fuzzy blanket, and pondered through some of my recent experiences.

   Grandma’s physical heart quit pumping when God decided to call her home. Though her earthly life held complicated twists and turns, she kept her heart set on Christ. This is what really mattered; not the strength of her physical heart. In fact, her life has only begun now! How I look forward to the day that my heart will be transported to glory where I can be forever with the One who gave me life! Life in my body, and life eternal.

   So with all those thoughts combined, I wrote this poem in memory of Grandma and as a reminder of God’s faithfulness to each individual who trusts Him in every heartbeat.

The Heartbeat

It begins as a miracle, 
Ignited by His powerful touch. 
In darkness, it flutters until at last 
The world becomes light. 
It dances in tune 
To the nurture of beauty and love. 
It quivers when stark realities 
Rear their formidable heads. 
When groping for hope, 
It aches with inexpressible pain. 
Throbbing with fervour 
When courage triumphs, 
It continues its steady beat— 
Calm, yet strong in His strength. 

The world is no longer all light. 
There is darkness ahead, 
Darker and harsher than ever before. 
It trembles as it faces the chilling finality. 
But again it is Him 
Who with His warmest touch, 
Preserves it before it is silenced 
By the seal of eternal darkness. 
It’s an end, 
Yet not an end forever. 

For at the end of that passageway, 
Brilliant light streams in! 
Brighter and clearer than ever before! 
Oh hear! The rhythm returns; 
It barely misses a beat. 
Not only within, 
But swelling without and around! 
Here it intensifies to its greatest tempo, 
For it’s freed from confines of the earth. 
The flesh has been cast aside 
And it joins the beat of the millions, 
Caught with that sweeping throng. 

Again, He reaches in with miraculous touch. 
He cannot express His joy. 
For His was the heart that beat along 
With every pulse of the earthly one. 
And now the two forever unite 
Where the music will never end. 

-Rynelle Penner

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   Place a hand on your chest. Even without a stethoscope, you can feel your heart is faithfully pumping on and on and on. Whether you’re dancing in light or aching with pain, tune your heartbeat to His steady one, trusting His will. Such a rhythm will last forever.