A University of Chicago study recently published in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior provides evidence that Lasting marriage is linked to better health. Many previous studies have shown that on the average married people have better health than those who never married. This new study found that people who are divorced or widowed have 20% more chronic health problems than those still married. Those who remarry after divorce are a little better off, but still have 12% more health problems. These differences remain when age, race, gender and education are factored in.
The CNN article on the report concludes that “Both genders suffer irreversible, detrimental effects on their health after losing marriage through a divorce or death of a spouse, according to the findings.”
It turns out that the thing about “one man and one woman for life” in the Bible is good for us. Who would have guessed?
I haven’t written much here recently, and part of the reason for that is that we were on vacation in Montana. We arrived back home a little over a week ago, and I have been busy catching up since then. Why is it that when you go on vacation you need to work twice as hard before you leave and after you get back?
We had a great visit with my family there, and it was good to slow down to my parents’ pace of life for a while. On many days the main decisions we had to make were about what we wanted to have for dinner and whether we wanted to go hiking. The location of the photograph at the right is the Highline Trail in Glacier National Park, which is my #1 favorite trail in the world (click on the picture for a larger image).
The trail starts out from the visitor’s center at Logan Pass, on the Continental Divide. We only hiked the first part of the trail, but I wanted to get to the place where the first picture was taken, because of the beautiful view.
It is a breathtaking hike that gives you the feeling that you are walking at the top of the world. The picture on the left gives you some idea of what it is like. The trail is well maintained, but they do provide a cable to hold on to for the faint of heart. When you meet someone coming the other way you have to find a wider part where it is safe to pass. A few people absolutely refuse to let go of the cable, so you have to go around them. The picture on the bottom right gives you some idea of this portion of the trail. If you click on the picture for a larger image, you can see two tiny people on the trail. That would be my brother Dave and I. In the background is Logan Pass. After hiking on a trail like this, you can understand why I find a lot of other trails boring. I’ve been spoiled!
We almost didn’t get to take this hike, because most of the days we spent staying in the park were partly cloudy, with intermittent showers. Finally on the last day the weather cleared up and we had a beautiful day for hiking. We took advantage of the weather by doing three short hikes that day. We were tired, but it was a wonderful day.
Experiences like this help to put things in perspective. The majesty of creation declares the glory of God. We are like the tiny specks in the picture, like ants climbing on a pile of dirt. When we are gone and forgotten, the mountains will still be there. Yet the Creator of all this loves us and desires fellowship with us. Amazing grace indeed.
