By Timothy A. Johnson

There is a strange sense of responsibility that has come over me. It has been five months since I underwent quintuple coronary bypass surgery and in the wake of that experience I have developed a new awareness of the great investment that has been made in me and my survival.

While climbing a steep hill in Nigeria in November 2008 I felt significant chest pain and some tingling down my arms. I knew that I needed to check this out when I got home. At a Jan. 5 appointment with my doctor, I was put on a fast track to have an angiogram. I was discovered to have significant blockages in the coronary arteries and scheduled for surgery a week later.

I had no complications in the operating room; the surgery took two hours less than potentially predicted, with the help of one of the best surgeons around. In intensive care, I had a full appetite with no nausea associated with my anesthesia. The next day, I began eating everything in sight ... which enabled me to heal faster. An excellent nursing staff cared for me through those first days.
Leaving the hospital in four days, my wife became my caregiver and chauffeur during the next four weeks. I re-established regular exercise beginning right at home, which I have carried through from cardiac rehab to the current day resumption of treadmill-ing, racquetball, tennis and walking. With my cardiologist, I am fine-tuning the medication necessary to lower my cholesterol to proper levels.

After five months I am able to do physically as much as I ever could, I have greater energy and I have greater confidence facing the future. Since it took 53 years for me to clog my arteries, now that blood flow has been well-restored, with proper diet, exercise and medication, my goal is to live another 53 years – to 106!
I believe I will live much longer because I have a sense of responsibility to keep my life ordered in a way that is consistent with the investment that has already been made in me. Throughout this entire process I have benefited from the services of literally dozens of healthcare professionals, plus the loving homecare of my wife.

I have good health insurance, part of the benefit plan of my
organization. The many thousands of dollars of expense for my care have been paid. I have received hundreds of good wishes and thousands of prayers have been sent up on my behalf.
After all of that has been invested in me, I am obliged to do whatever I can now to keep myself in good health. I am conscious about the healthfulness of every bite I eat. I carefully take my medication. I consistently keep up my exercise. I intend to consult with my doctors regularly, unlike my previous “every-17-year” regular physical check-up!

I have this overwhelming sense of responsibility. Yet, I think if all of us did just a little bit of self-assessment, we all would come to similar conclusions about life in general. Every one of us has had investments made in us that should inspire responsibility in life.

We all have had parents or guardians who cared for us from the beginning of life. The quality of those relationships varies across the board, yet someone made those initial investments to keep us alive in our early years. Those who walked with us through our school years, helped us dream dreams for the future, and were there every night to tuck us into bed, are owed a great debt.

Teachers, coaches, pastors, neighbors, friends – every person in our web of relationships has also invested in us to make us who we are. To them we owe appreciation and thanks.

Family members within our own household and our extended family, as well, have hung with us, put up with us, offered their personal interest, moral support and sometimes even hard cold cash for our success. They deserve our gratitude.

In all these instances, those who have invested in us do not require more than the pay-back of sincere gratitude from the heart and conscientiousness is carrying out life’s responsibilities. The sad fact is that many people live life without an active awareness of the investment and sacrifice others have made for their welfare. They do not acknowledge the great web of relationships from which they have derived benefit. They may also be so self-absorbed that it may not even dawn on them to show appreciation for those who have been their benefactors.

Jesus said, “What do you have that you have not been given?” That question needs to resonate in our minds and hearts as we analyze the investments made in us. Then, we need to respond by living lives that properly honor those who have contributed to our well-being by consistently employing the resources we have been given with wisdom, as we build our lives and impact positively everyone we touch.

The Rev. Timothy A. Johnson shares this space with the Revs. Rod Anderson and Michael Miller as well as spiritual writers Dr. Bernard E. Johnson and Lauren Carlson-Vohs. “Spiritually Speaking” appears weekly.