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Health Devotional
Heart Attack at 27!
Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I will lift up my soul. Ps. 143:8, NIV.
It can't be a heart attack. My husband is only 27 years old!" Patty was in a state of shock. It was Christmas Day 1994. Her husband, Jim, and her father had had a couple mixed drinks, had done some target practicing, and then enjoyed the big family Christmas dinner. After the meal Jim took a nap. Upon awaking, he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette. Feeling some indigestion, he took some medicine. His symptoms increased: nausea and clammy sweat. He felt hot, but lying down with a fan blowing on him didn't help. Finally he consented to be taken to the hospital emergency room. The physician diagnosed a heart attack.
Jim was a tall, muscular supervisor in a carpet plant. But his job was a stressful one, and although his main summer sport was waterskiing, during the winter he didn't do much of anything except sit and watch TV.
After the scare of the heart attack, Patty said to Jim, "Honey, we must change our lifestyles." The couple had heard that one could reverse heart disease by following a healthy diet and by exercising regularly. They knew that Americans eat too much fat and rich foods, which cause plaque to build up in the arteries.
So searching for answers, they went with a vanload of people attending a satellite downlinked vegetarian cooking class in Chattanooga, and then they participated in the follow-up sessions at the Dalton Seventh-day Adventist Church. They joined the local health club and began exercising regularly. Jim has now quit smoking and has become much more physically active. Careful about their diet, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, they avoid adding margarine, mayonnaise, and other visible fats to their food. But most important, they have rededicated their lives to Christ.
Nearly a year after his heart attack Jim is enjoying a normal life, and continues to follow a healthy lifestyle program.
One can understand why one of Jim and Patty's favorite texts is: "Show me the way I should go, for to You I will lift up my soul."
Challenge: Make Psalm 143:8 your philosophy of life.
It can't be a heart attack. My husband is only 27 years old!" Patty was in a state of shock. It was Christmas Day 1994. Her husband, Jim, and her father had had a couple mixed drinks, had done some target practicing, and then enjoyed the big family Christmas dinner. After the meal Jim took a nap. Upon awaking, he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette. Feeling some indigestion, he took some medicine. His symptoms increased: nausea and clammy sweat. He felt hot, but lying down with a fan blowing on him didn't help. Finally he consented to be taken to the hospital emergency room. The physician diagnosed a heart attack.
Jim was a tall, muscular supervisor in a carpet plant. But his job was a stressful one, and although his main summer sport was waterskiing, during the winter he didn't do much of anything except sit and watch TV.
After the scare of the heart attack, Patty said to Jim, "Honey, we must change our lifestyles." The couple had heard that one could reverse heart disease by following a healthy diet and by exercising regularly. They knew that Americans eat too much fat and rich foods, which cause plaque to build up in the arteries.
So searching for answers, they went with a vanload of people attending a satellite downlinked vegetarian cooking class in Chattanooga, and then they participated in the follow-up sessions at the Dalton Seventh-day Adventist Church. They joined the local health club and began exercising regularly. Jim has now quit smoking and has become much more physically active. Careful about their diet, emphasizing fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans, they avoid adding margarine, mayonnaise, and other visible fats to their food. But most important, they have rededicated their lives to Christ.
Nearly a year after his heart attack Jim is enjoying a normal life, and continues to follow a healthy lifestyle program.
One can understand why one of Jim and Patty's favorite texts is: "Show me the way I should go, for to You I will lift up my soul."
Challenge: Make Psalm 143:8 your philosophy of life.
Used by permission of Health Ministries, North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists.
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