Cosmologists are desperately looking for water in other parts of the universe. Why? Because water is a sign of life. Water is a commodity we encounter daily, but have you ever given it a thought?
The wonder when you walk out in the early morning and you see the dew on the grass. Why do these droplets form on the grass? Why don’t they just run off? Oh, the splendour of the dew on a spider’s web! It’s like a net of fine diamonds. Are they stuck on the web because the spider’s web is so sticky?
Since man has gone to space we see photo’s of mother earth - a blue hue wrapped in a cloud cover. 71% of earth’s surface is covered by water. Oceans are 97% of this surface water, glaciers and polar icecaps are 2.4%, the final 0.6 % are found in rivers, lakes and ponds. Look at your body, you seem quite solid. Some of us more than others. Have you felt the hardness of the body builder’s muscles? To think that it is made up of 70% water! We can survive 40 days (or longer) without food, but we begin to be dehydrated (on a hot day) within hours. Development level of countries are among others determined by the availability of clean, safe drinking water. All living things on earth are dependent on water to survive.
Is it just accidental that our while life system on earth is centred around water? I doubt it. When you look at some of the characteristics of water there is nothing random about it. Water is made up of two hydrogen atoms that bond to one oxygen atom. But the extraordinary thing is that they bond at an angle of 104.5°. This 104.5° is magic. It causes the water molecule to be bipolar in other words it has a small negative charge and a small positive charge and gives water its peculiar characteristics.
Did you know that water becomes less dense from 4° Celsius and colder. So ponds & puddles freeze from the top to the bottom, but before it reaches the bottom the top layer of ice isolates the terrible cold temperature in the air from the rest of the water below. All the water creatures survive and the Russians, Norwegians and Swedes can make a sport of swimming in the water under the ice cap of the river!
Those of you who play chess will know that any of the major pieces have greater striking ability from the centre of the board in contrast to when they are stuck at the side of the board. Well the dipoles of water also pull the ones at the surface down causing water to have a curved surface in any container. The interaction of the dipoles at the surface are so strong that it gives the water surface a skin effect. The water strider and ants use this characteristic of water to walk on the water. It’s a pity we are so heavy, but you can make a paper clip float if your are careful! Due to the interplay of these properties water can reach the tips of very large vascular trees overcoming gravity! We work up a sweat just to climb up the outside. This surface tension causes the beautiful drops to form on the spider’s web and the grass when it dews.
Now do you expect me to believe that all of this happened through a natural process?? I will believe you if you can prove to me that a delicate, precisely made Aquaswiss or Seiko Premier Sapphire watch or a shining red Ferrari also came about naturally.
We ascribe the making of these designs to Intelligent Design. I think water also falls in this category, don’t you?
My daughter is 34 years old, but was brain-damaged due to a series of operations within her first year on earth. We were greatly concerned how she would react to her mother’s mastectomy and ensuing treatment. Through much prayer she has taken it in her stride, but I must say we only told her the bare necessities (excuse the pun).
Yesterday morning her mother came out of the shower with just her nightgown on. She called her mom to help her on the toilet. (She is very chubby and needs someone to help her as her arms are too short). She looked at her mom and asked, “Do you only have one breast?” “Yes”. “Where is the other breast?” “It had cancer and the cancer was removed”. She unceremoniously reached out and drew away the gown and studied the operation mark for a few moments. “Oh. I have two breasts!” was her only reaction. The innocence of a child!
This was a great lesson to us, that a person must not push things. At the right time the children will ask questions when they are ready and then they are also better prepared to deal with the answers. I had a suspicion that she was wondering about her mom’s breast, but now she knows.
At the change of the year I inevitably think of the Book by Henry Blackaby, “Experiencing God”. He refers to Noah. Doesn’t matter what Noah had planned if God was going to destroy the world through the flood. I inevitably wonder, What is on God’s mind for 2010?
We are all excited about the Soccer World Cup. I am amazed at some people’s optimism that Bafana Bafana is going to win the world cup (in spite of their poor performance to date). We make our new year’s resolutions. We plan for the coming year, but what will it avail to, if it does not fit in with God’s plans?
I was watching a challenging movie last night. (I seem to be watching out of the ordinary movies at new year’s eve - see post of 5th January 2009). It is a movie by Cloud Ten productions called “Tribulation”. It reflects on the persecution and oppression the followers of Jesus will experience in the end times before the return of Christ. That made me think … what if Christ’s return will be this year? How will that affect my agenda? Quite some thought!
People see good or bad omens in unnatural occurrences. Last night there was a moon eclipse that happens “once in a blue moon” (literally). Some people were reading a good omen into it. Then there was an albino deer that was born, also a once in a life time occurrence. White being a symbol of purity, they said the new year will be one that brings purity (or something to that effect). It made me think of Scripture where Jesus answers the question of his disciples namely, When will the destruction of Jerusalem be and the end times? (Matthew 24).
Among other things He says that at the time of his return the people will marry, bury, and go on with life as usual. Many people love the heat of summer, so they immediately notice when the cold of winter is over. But they are not particularly observant of the trees budding and the flowers sprouting decorating nature in a beautiful cloak of colour. The rat race of everyday life preoccupy them. There is no time to appreciate the change in nature or to reflect on it (that you perhaps do whilst on holiday). So the people will not understand the signs of the times and will be ignorant of Christ’s return.
What will 2010 bring us? Will we understand the signs of the times that things are not progressing as “normal”?
The dreaded holidays are here again. Yes, I know it is supposed to be a happy time, a relaxing time, a time of good will. Unfortunately we try to find happiness in a bottle, we can’t relax without the help of liquor, we only show good will to someone who gives us a drink. What is the end result? Accidents! People land in hospital, are maimed and the “lucky” ones die.
The TV is playing its part in this new culture. Since last Christmas the liquor adverts on TV has gone on unabated. The last two months it has picked up. From early to late you are invited to make a choice of your favoured brand. If you look carefully you will see a white band at the bottom of your screen saying that we should drink responsibly, drinking and driving kills, not for persons under 18 years of age. Do you seriously think that makes any impact at all? I wonder if anybody sees it, if they do, do they read it? If I wasn’t so concerned about the impact of liquor adverts on the lives of people, I probably would also have ignored it.
Great was my surprise to see that the ANC Youth League actually agree with me. Surprised because my world-view and theirs differ vastly. The only problem is that they have adopted an extreme standpoint. They want to ban all advertisements and close all liquor outlets after a certain hour, stop all sales on a Sunday. I can live with the last two, but what the Youth League don’t take into consideration is the vested interests of the liquor companies. They are unconcerned about the impact on children and teenagers. They say all the right things, but their action speak so loud nobody can hear what they are saying. If their adverts did not lead to higher liquor sales, why advertise? It would be bad policy to continue an activity at such tremendous cost (advertising during peak time must cost a packet) if it did not bring in lucrative rewards. More liquor sales, more drinking, higher chances of driving under the influence, the higher chances of making (fatal) accidents. The tragedy is that people who do not drink during the year, may indulge during this “festive” season and fall victim to an accident, a fatal one.
The SABC and e-tv are also more concerned about their profits than the effect these liquor adverts have on the lives of people. Trying to get them to changed their policy on liquor adverts is a futile effort. They have Board members, CEO’s and senior staff members to pay handsome salaries. [They try to save money by showing us the same films over and over again. For a change of spice they dig up some (very) oldies out of the archives. You can only watch the same film so many times before it becomes real boring]. So liquor adverts are a very lucrative source of income!
It is quite disturbing to me that few people seem to care about the liquor adverts. They are silent. I have however also learned that the pen is mightier than the sword; the newspaper editor is mightier than the politically incorrect correspondent. They say we have a democracy. Unless you have a platform to speak from, you don’t have a voice in the public media if they don’t like what you are saying.
I trust that in your part of the world things are not so gloomy or do you also brighten it with a cognac.
The big day of the mastectomy was 12 days ago. Everything went smooth. Now its only learning to live with the after effects of which one will be the results of the tests on the axillary glands. The other reminds me of a Bible verse that I have always found intriguing … and faithfully practised:
“Drink water from your own cistern,
And fresh water from your own well. …
Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you. …
Let your fountain be blessed,
And rejoice in the wife of your youth.
As a loving hind and a graceful doe,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times,
Be exhilarated always with her love.” (Proverbs 5 verses15,17,18-19).
Now after D-day it has taken on new meaning. Instead of two fawns feeding among the lilies, there is only one standing next to an ugly ridge cutting across a big flat space (excuse the pun). It is one thing to look at the flatness covered by nighties, but the first time I had to clean the wound and dress it for my wife, it was different to face the naked reality.
Suddenly you discover that beauty goes further than skin deep. She is still the wife of my youth in which I delight! My youngest son cannot think, or understand that I find his mother’s legs, covered with varicose veins, sexy. You see when I look at them I see the same sexy legs of the wife of my youth. After the op. she dyed her hair a light copper red. Now I am all over in love with the wife of my youth. When I met her she had copper toned hair when the sunrays caught it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
But the most attractive about her is that disarming smile and her sparkling eyes. They augment the softness of her personality. Nothing of this has changed. She is still the same person even without the twins of a gazelle (- just one fawn).
At last we came to a doctor that is not fearful. She works with cancer patients every day of her life. She has probably made peace with death. What a wonderful fresh breeze.
The oncologist referred us to the “cancer hospital” in a neighbouring city to have a bone scan done and to get a second opinion. Or perhaps to persuade us to accept the inevitable? First my wife was made radioactive. They even put a sticker to that effect on her file! Then after two hours she went for the scan. We praise the Master Weaver that her bones are clear of cancer.
The female doctor explained to us the situation. The cancer was not completely removed, when the lumpectomy was done. It has invaded the ducts and veins in the surrounding areas, which is a bad sign. It is a type 3 cancer, which is a more aggressive type. Breast cancer has the bad habit of hiding away. Before the limp was removed they did not inject a dye into the cancerous lump to see if it has spread to the axilla glands and you will not tell if it has spread by physical examination. Therefore it is best to do a mastectomy and remove the axilla glands.
How different to receive all the relevant information and make an informed decision! The abhorrent idea of just removing her breast (for fun?) has been disarmed. Both my wife and myself are at peace about this inevitable development. In a week’s time she will know the date of the operation. We are so thankful we did not just accept the verdict of the surgeon, but asked to consult the oncologist who wanted to be sure of the situation so that we don’t start treating one condition, but ignorant of another hidden condition. (We learnt this lesson with our daughter’s dislocated hip that was operated on when she was 5 months old. We did what the doctors said without asking for a second opinion. As a result she was left brain damaged. But even 33 years later she still is a blessing to us). The oncologist repeatedly said we must do it right the first time.
Two weeks ago my wife went for the lumpectomy. The agonizing pain was gone, although the pain from the op was still bad. Today the results came.
I learned a few things about doctors. They are just human. It seems to me they have greater difficulty facing the possibility of cancer than the patient. Perhaps they are fearful of being taken to court for making a wrong diagnosis. They are vague and try to create some sense of hope for the patient. My wife’s “personal doctor” at the hospital said the biopsy was diagnosed as cancer. The surgeon said we can’t be sure until a lumpectomy was done. See … that spark of hope.
Then the results of the lumpectomy comes. We look with abated breath at the doctor. “The lump was very fragmented” (well, after all the biopsies it must be) “and the conclusion inconclusive”. “But doctor what did they say, was the lump malignant”, my wife asks. (Seeing that you ask so directly I am forced to give you a direct answer). “Yes, it is malignant”. When he has to use the big C word, he uses the medical term, carcinoma. He consults with the surgeon who did the op. “We will have to do a mastectomy”.
My wife and I have discussed this over the past two weeks. If her life depended on it, she would have a mastectomy, but only after all other options were exhausted. We informed the doctor accordingly. “How long will she live?” “What if she dies?” He asks.
Does this doctor have a fear of death? Is he projecting his fears onto us? Upon our request we were referred to oncology. At least we will get a second opinion now from somebody that will consider other options than merely lobbing off limbs.
My wife and I am at peace. We know it is a difficult road ahead, but the Master Weaver is in charge.