If you read the fine print it clearly states
that everything is grace.
Under figure 3A the description reads
This breath, in fact, is a gift. 
And further down:
This body, you’ve no doubt observed, will go away.
This flesh has a shelf-life.
One footnote says,
As a best case, the body will last a century. 
Though it more commonly fails between
seven and eight decades into use.*

There is a haunted asterisk on that fact.

*Sometimes, for no reason found in this book,
the body fails sooner. After only days or months
or too few orbits around the sun, 
through sudden impact or subtle violence of disease, 
a lifespan is condensed dramatically. 
We cannot find an explanation, as noted above.

At the end of the chapter is a summary
with discussion questions
for further examination:

We don’t get forever. 
We are not entitled to years. 
We may get one hundred.
We may not. 
There is no reason for this. 
There is nothing to fear. 

What does this have to do with the reality
of a sunrise peeking through the blinds? 
How does this impact the crisp sweetness
of a crimson apple in autumn?
Which is greater: poetry or success? 
What is heavier: despair or the tiny hairs
on the surface of a raspberry?
What is enough: this moment or the sound of the dog
breathing deeply in the chair across the room?
~Connor Gwin “The Fine Print”

The main thing is this– 
when you get up in the morning 
you must take your heart in your two hands. 
You must do this every morning. 
Then talk softly to your heart, don’t yell. 
Say anything but be respectful. 
Say–maybe say, Heart, little heart, 
beat softly but never forget your job, the blood. 
You can whisper also, Remember, remember. 
~Grace Paley from “The Art of Growing Older” in  Just As I Thought

A year ago this week, I was recovering from a prolonged bout of bronchitis and felt my chest was sore when I went out to do my barn chores in the cold winter air. Only it wasn’t because of my persistent cough that my chest hurt.

It was my heart, but I was not listening to it.
I was not holding it gently enough and it let me know.

After a year of living with the knowledge that I have a limited shelf life, extended by the emergency placement of two coronary artery stents, I’m much more respectful with my heart. I’m treating it more kindly now that I know it was showing some wear and tear.

Cardiac rehab followed by medically-monitored exercise continues to help. Blood pressure meds, statins, blood thinners help. Weight loss always helps. I can do my barn chores in cold winter air without my chest hurting.

I’ve gained a new awareness of how everything I took for granted is no longer a given. Every breath is a gift. Every sunrise and sunset is a gift. Encouragement and prayer from my family, friends, church and readers around the world especially helps.

I’ve had an extension on my warranty for now after a stunning repair. My heart won’t forget, and never again will I.

God, in fine print, reminds me regularly: everything is grace – there is nothing to fear.