Did you know that a broken heart isn’t only a metaphor for those who’ve experienced loss? It’s a severe condition millions suffer from in our society. The fifty-cent medical term for the disease is cardiomyopathy, and I was diagnosed with this condition several months ago.

Initially, the ailment starts with no symptoms but can get serious quickly. As the disease progresses, because it affects the heart muscle, shortness of breath, feeling wiped out, and an irregular heartbeat occurs.

The not-so-lucky who suffer from this malady are at an increased risk of what the doc calls “sudden cardiac death.”

The condition, because it sometimes appears after significant physical or emotional stressors (e.g., death of a loved one, loss of a job, divorce), is called the broken heart syndrome.

Sound like fun?

It’s not.

At all.

I am on so many meds right now that they won’t need to embalm my body if I die soon.

My doc says it is a hereditary problem, bad genes. (My grandfather, an uncle, and dad all suffered from heart disease.)

I call it being human and living on this side of eternity in a broken world with fractured and imperfect bodies.

Whatever the cause, me, God, faulty DNA, or too much pizza, it’s sobering. I am sixty-six, not ninety-six.

I still have a lot I want to do.

And I hoped to write another book (or ten) before I die.

But living with the reality of my mortality is not all bad. I am more motivated than ever to experience life with purpose and passion.

Most mornings, I watch the sunrise, pray, think, read, and write.

I waste hardly any precious moments watching the idiot box (aka television).

People and my relationships, even the broken ones, matter most to me now.

And every day, my single most significant goal is to make a positive and godly difference in the life of at least one person.

More than ever, I am keenly aware that I don’t own my next breath.

Today could be my last day in this broken and aging bodysuit.

And it’s okay.

Really.

Sure, I’d like to watch my grandkids grow up.

There are a thousand things I still want to experience with my family and friends.

And yep, I’d love to show a few more people what God can do with a recovering idiot like me.

But if my next keystroke on this MacBook is my last, I’m good with what comes next.

Eternity is awesome, and I have a lot to look forward to an awful lot (and none of it will be awful).

More beauty than I can even imagine awaits me on the other side.

So, it’s 5:43 AM, the sky is peeking blue, and the shadow of the trees swaying under the influence of a gentle easterly wind intrigues me.

Any second now, I’ll have a hot cup of hot Java in one hand and the Word in the other.

It’s a beautiful day.

And a day to live with short accounts, love for all I meet, laughter, and intentionality.

My heart might be broken, but my spirit and soul are not.

How’s your heart?

How are your relationships?

Go live today on purpose because God’s not done with you yet.

“Abba made this day for us. It’s a gift from Him!

So, let’s be overflowing with joy and not waste one moment of His goodness.”

Psalm 118:24 (BPV)