The pill reminder box

As the years pass by one begins to experience new things. Some of these we enjoy while others we endure. One of these new experiences came to me around my fortieth birthday. Upon having a physical, a requirement for turning forty in Carol's mind, my doctor put me on daily vitamin E, multi-vitamin and aspirin. My first thoughts were: 'Do I really need to remember to take three pills a day for the rest of my life?' Carol brought home three bottles of pills for me that week and I have managed to take three pills nearly every day since.

That first aspirin bottle got my attention. It contained exactly 365 low dosage aspirin tablets, a clever piece of marketing. It didn't take much to get me thinking just how many aspirin bottles I had left in me. Would r have to take 10,20,40 or more bottles of aspirin? Besides would taking the aspirin add to my life span, Matthew 6:27? After presenting this biblical argument to Carol, I began taking the aspirin and vitamins.

It has been nearly sixteen years since I began counting aspirin bottles. I still don't know how many more bottles of aspirin I will have to take. Have the fifteen plus bottles of aspirin, I have already taken added one cubit to my life span? I don't know. However, some things have been accomplished. I now have a habit of taking three pills every morning and Carol is happy. I don't look at this as trivial.

First of all, developing a habit of taking these pills is supposed to be good for me. Sometimes in the middle of the day I would get this weird feeling that I have forgotten something. By now I've learned to go take the three pills whenever this feeling comes over me. You know this is a great lead in for developing good spiritual habits like daily prayer, bible study and so on. I need to be more diligent so that when that weird forgetting feeling comes over me these and other spiritual habits are fulfilled.

Secondly, making Carol happy is something that I have promised to do. It is a win, win deal for both of us. About a year ago Carol rewarded me with a weekly pill reminder box. You know the one that has seven compartments labeled with a letter on each lid for each day of the week. Now when I get that weird feeling I just look at the lid for that day. If there are pills under that lid I take them. A side benefit is that I now think of time in terms of weeks and days instead of years when taking my pills.

This brings us to the lesson of the pill reminder box. It doesn't really matter how much time the faithful Christian has. It is a win, win life. You win if you lose your life. That was Paul's view of time for himself, Philippians 1:21-24. That should be the Christian's view of time, 2 Corinthians 5:6-11. You win if you lose your life and are with Christ. You also win if you lose your life in making others happy. What better way to make others happy than the way of Christ? In this we can please the Lord.

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