Guard Your Heart

It's important to guard your heart. So many lies are out among us that we have to truly know God's word to discern what is truth and what are lies.

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Put away perversity from your lips. Light your paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil. --Proverbs 4:23-27

It is our responsibility to guard our heart mentally and spiritually, but what guards it physically?

The ribs are a very important part of everyday life. They shield our lungs and heart from external damage. Without them, we wouldn't be able to do anything--even lie on the couch--without a risk of your lungs being punctured, bruised or something happening to your heart. God placed the ribs as a cage around these vital, life-sustaining organs to protect them.

The ribs are made of twelve pairs of individual bones. Ribs 1-5 are called 'true ribs' because they connect directly to the sternum. Ribs 6-10 are called 'false ribs' because they connect to the sternum by cartilage. The remaining two ribs are called 'floating ribs' because they do not connect to anything except the lumbar vertebrae in the spine. At the end of the sternum, there is a little piece of cartilage called the xiphoid process. You can feel it about a hand width up from your belly button (just don't press too hard.)

Several months ago, I went out to the garage to welcome Dad home. We keep two deep freezers out there to store the meat from our livestock. The alarm on one of the freezers went off, announcing that it was open. My Dad asked me to shut it, so I walked over to do so. There were several bikes in the way and a trashcan and I really didn't feel like moving them. Instead, I came up with a brilliant idea, or so I thought. I could just stand on one of the bikes (they were lying down) and kick the door shut with one foot. I went ahead with my plan and ended up smacking my side on the bikes and then the cement floor of the garage. I was on the couch for the next week with a bruised rib. I think I bruised the 4th or 5th rib. At least, that's my self-diagnosis.

If the ribs weren't there to protect me, I would have damaged my lung, both lungs or my heart. Let me advise you that it is a very bad idea to stand on a bike, even if it is lying down and you think you've got good balance. It didn't work out so well for me.

God put the ribs in place to protect us, just like the many other things He has put in place, such as our parents and the rules they establish. So, the next time you bump into something with your chest or you fall and hit your side, thank God that He put both kinds of protection there.

(reposted from my Anatomy and Physiology blog)