He asked you for life, and you gave it to him— length of days, for ever and ever.

Psalm 21:4

Life has been reduced to performance, beauty and effectivity. Human value is defined by achievements or qualities easily lost. We ourselves, too, sometimes make the mistake of evaluating our life by these things, and we can’t let go of the pursuit of trivialities. Could sickness and trouble therefore be God’s graceful speech to us, could they open views that would otherwise go unnoticed? Could these even be the most touching and beautiful sceneries of all?
People used to visit the sick in order to learn about life. Now we are afraid of sickbeds and want to avoid them. A friend who got seriously ill said that he had realised that the most important things are not achievements but life itself. Do we live our life without really living it when we try to reach for things in the future and forget the present moment? Looking too far ahead we may miss the best. That’s why sickness may also be healing.