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The life of a superhero is one that we are all familiar with, whether from books, television, or movies. What stands out most about superheroes is their invincibility. No matter how far they fall or whatever they run into, they have the ability to get up and walk away.

We all come to that point in our lives when we realize that we are not as invincible as we would have liked to think. It may come on gradually or happen quickly. We might begin to notice it ourselves, or family and friends may point it out to us. It holds no boundaries — it is just a part of our lives.

This past winter, a few people I know had falls and broke their arms, limiting their ability to do things for themselves and to get out and about. Recently, I was diagnosed with carpel tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow in both arms. A few days after this, my husband needed sudden surgery for a kidney stone. As we find out what one can do that the other can't, we have to decide what is important and what won't get done.

1 Corinthians 12:12,27 – The body is a unit, through it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. (NIV)

All through this time, we have experienced the value of being part of the body of Christ, the church. During those three days at the hospital with my husband, we were being held up in prayer by our friends. Phone calls, emails, and texts all seemed to arrive at just the right time with the right words. Family and very special friends came just in time as a surgery was happening, to sit with me as I waited. All of these are activities that the body of Christ is called to do and ways it is to function by the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

This is still mind-boggling to me, as my natural tendency in my pre-Christian life would have been to keep these events private and to deal with them ourselves. I believe that it is my maturity in the body of Christ that has shown me time and time again these past nine years how to ask for prayer and seek the body for comfort.
The results of this show up in my life as a calmer self for me. I also believe that this has alerted me to opportunities to pray with others in the hospital and to be an encouragement to people with little or no relationship with Jesus.

Whether we are the person blessing others or the one being blessed, we can rest in the fact that in the body of Christ, we are all one.

Romans 12:4-6a – Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, we come to You as broken vessels, but You repair us so that we can become vessels to minister to others. We are grateful that in our weakness, You are our strength. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Julie Bowles