I went in for a stress echocardiogram Tuesday. I’ve had some shortness of breath when walking the last few months, so my cardiologist recommended I get this test done.
About ½ way through the preliminary echo, the tech stopped and left the room. “Uh-oh,” I thought, “That’s not good.” Finally the tech returned and told me what she’d found.
Turns out I have a pericardial effusion, fluid around the heart. If there is enough fluid present it can interfere with the heart’s function, causing chest pain, shortness of breath and fatigue. Treatment can range from taking NSAIDS, getting stuck with a needle in the heart lining to draw off the fluid, or open heart surgery. As you can imagine I was a little anxious, while I awaited the results.
Thankfully, there is only a small amount of fluid present. Turns out it had been present on a previous echo done in 2012 and was unchanged. No further treatment is need for now.
Facing the prospect of having a needle stuck in your heart lining tends to make you think. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Just as we take care of our physical hearts by eating properly, avoiding use of harmful substances and getting regular exercise, so we must also care for our spiritual hearts if we are to enjoy to full, abundant life Jesus wants us to enjoy (see John 10:10).
If we allow the cares of this world to press in upon us and if we make poor choices which clog the lines of communication with our Heavenly Father, like cholesterol clogs our arteries, our hearts will be unable to fully respond to God’s still small voice.
Like the fluid pressing on the heart in a pericardial effusion, preventing the heart from fully expanding, so we will be unable fully “understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.” Ephesians 3:18.
What we need is a drastic solution, a heart transplant. If you let Him, God promises in Ezekiel 36:26. to “take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart”, a heart which beats only for Him.
This Sabbath, if your heart hurts from the trials and disappointments of life, if you are worn out from trying to make it on your own, then it’s time to give let the Great Physician get to work. Let him give you a new heart today and experience for the first time what it means to be fully alive, fully His. I promise you’ll be glad you did.
God bless and Happy Sabbath!