The Human Body

So I went to the Body Worlds exhibit today in St. Paul. Here's what the website says just to give you an idea of what it is if you haven't heard of it. A little pricey, but I recommend it to anyone.

The exhibition features about 200 authentic human specimens, including entire bodies, individual organs and transparent body slices that have been preserved through the process of Plastination, a technique that replaces bodily fluids and fat with reactive plastics. BODY WORLDS offers a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see and understand our own physiology and health and to gain new appreciation and respect for what it means to be human.

I thought it was a really neat exhibit, extremely unique. I was so impressed by the intricate detail of the human exhibits, and I can't imagine how much time most of them would have taken. My favorite were the ones that showed the blood vessels. Wow, they were cool! They injected the vessels with this dye that made them like plastic, and then used caustic agents to take off the soft tissue around it, so all that was left were the blood vessels. And I liked seeing the kidneys. I don't know why, I just think they are funny. So little, yet sooooo important. Maybe I just liked them because I work on a nephrology (kidney) unit. :-)

It gave me new appreciation for how wonderfully we are made. Wow, God did a heck of a job. I'm amazed. Totally in awe of his creativity and wisdom. It made me think about how though I claim so much possession over this body I am in, it's really not mine. I only have it because of a gift from God. Romans 12:1: "Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleaseing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship." I am to offer my body back to God, to take care of it and allow myself to be used by him for his purposes.

Another interesting thing about the exhibit were that there were this quotes all around on big posters. Some were Scripture, some where quotes about how this life is all there is and we are nothing after death. I'm really glad I don't believe this is all there is, otherwise I would be one depressed person, despite how amazing some of creation is. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life." There are a ton of other verses that talk about eternity and God's promises to those who believe, and I wish I had time to recount more of them here. But, alas, I must sleep for now.