The following article was written for and published in the Pastor’s Corner of the Sheridan Press Newspaper.  I want to thank everyone for your responses.  I am including it on the FPC blog for those who may not have had a chance to read the article in the press.  My prayer is that during this Christmas Season you will find time to consider the foundation for your life.   

Blessings to each of you.  Paul

With the exception of an annual wellness exam, we seldom make a doctor’s appointment unless there is a problem.  For most of us, life is good when health is good. But, when we have a problem it is always great to find a trusted person to whom you can turn to help resolve the issue and get back to ‘normal.’ 

I have a problem (for those of you who know me you’re probably saying, “a problem?”).  Finally, I sought out a trusted professional to help me.  Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting one of Sheridan’s young and fine physicians.  I found Dr. Kane’ of Sheridan’s Foot Care Center to be personable and knowledgeable in his area of expertise.  He was the right person to help me address some unforeseen complications from a former foot surgery.  Hallelujah.

As you may be aware, the human foot is really a miraculous creation.  Did you know:

• A human foot& ankle is a strong, mechanical structure that contain 26 bones, 33 joints,and more than 100 muscles, tendons & ligaments.
•  The 52 bones in your feet make up one quarter of all the bones in your body.
• There are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in a pair of feet, and they excrete as much as half a pint of moisture each day.
• The soles of your feet contain more sweat glands and sensory nerve endings per square centimeter than any other part of the body. 
• The average person takes 8,000 to 10,000 steps a day, which add up to 115,000 miles in a lifetime – more than 4 times the circumference of the globe.
• During an average day of walking, the total forces on your feet can total hundreds of tons, equivalent to an average of a fully loaded cement truck. 
• When walking, each time your heel lifts off the ground it forces the toes to carry one half of your body weight.
• A 2½-inch high heel can increase the load on the forefoot by 75%. 
• Walking is the best exercise for your feet. It contributes to your general health by improving circulation and weight control. 
• Standing in ones pot is far more tiring than walking because the demands are being made on the same few muscles for a longer length of time. 
• Foot ailments can become your first sign of more serious medical problems.

Our feet are the foundation upon which our bodies stand.  If you have a shaky foundation it effects much of what you do, how you do it, and how much you enjoy doing it.  The foundation can also impact other body parts as well (especially knees and hips).  If you don’t take care of your soles, your whole physical structure can suffer. 

In like fashion, if you don’t take care of your soul,your whole life can suffer.  For me, my spiritual life is the foundation from which everything else in life gains its stability.  When I am not right with God everything else is set off balance or gets out of focus.  My life rests on my relationship with God. 

And what is the nature of that God upon whom my life rests?  This is the Christmas Season.  In our culture it is so easy to think of decorations and presents and festivities.  But Christmas is the time to remember our spiritual foundation that:

• God so loved the world that God became one of us in Jesus Christ (John 3:16); 
• Jesus didn’t come as a prince but a pauper, not as a king but a commoner and therein understands us because he was one of us;
• Because he understands, I can talk with him about anything and everything (1 Peter 5:7);
• I can be forgiven if I fail in my attempts to live the right kind of life (1 John 1:9);
• I can claim God’s promises to his children such as, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28) and,
• “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5)and,
• “Nothing can separate me from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ” (Romans 8:37-39) and, …

Oh, the list could go on and on concerning the soul foundation upon which we can build the abundant life Jesus wants us to have(John 10:10b).  During this Christmas Season make time to look at and strengthen your soul foundation.  Mine is Jesus Christ.  Who (or what) is yours?