Signs of Maturity

What are the signs of maturity as a Christian? Certainly this is over-simplified but I would define it as giving out more than you take in.

So many Christians require a tremendous amount of attention... the proverbial "black hole" of pastoring. Everyone, myself included, requires care and extra attention from time to time. Life takes it out of us all and it sometimes hurts and we must depend on others to pick up our slack and, with patience and compassion, nurse us back to health. But the object is to get back into the fight... not make a lifestyle out of spiritual intensive care.

Therefore... I judge Christian maturity, at least partially, by watching how someone handles adversity... and how much they give out in caring for others in relation to how much care they receive.

Rumors of My Demise are Greatly Exaggerated... I Hope...

I had an exciting weekend but everything seems to have turned out alright. On Sunday morning I collapsed and was taken to River Oaks hospital where they diagnosed me as having a "Significant Cardiac Episode"... or heart attack. An EKG showed almost total blockage of a main artery (that's as technical as I know). I was then rushed to Baptist Hospital's Cardiac Center where they performed a heart cath and a hundred other things that left holes and hairless areas all over my body. The results after 3 days of tests were that there was no evidence of heart damage, or signs of heart attack... the doctor said "I am not a religious man but if I were I would say we had witnessed a miracle". All of my vitals are normal... cholesterol lower than average... blood pressure low average... so...
I don't know for sure what happened but I'm doing well, feeling fine ( a little sore from all the poking and prodding ) and back at home today.

Thank you to all who were praying... I do believe you made the difference...