Well, a few days ago I also shouted
“Eureka!” upon discovering that I grow a new nail every three months. How did I
make this discovery?
On 20th September I participated
in the Zambian presidential and parliamentary elections. After voting, to make
sure I do not come back to vote again, one of the election officials painted my
finger with indelible ink. I noticed that every month, the position of this ink
moved about a third downwards. Finally, two days ago, i.e. 20th December,
I noticed that the mark had reached the tip of my finger. Eureka!
Three years ago, when we had our previous
presidential and parliamentary election, I made a similar observation and found
that exactly three months after the election the indelible ink had reached the
tip of my finger. Like Mary the mother of Jesus, I treasured up all these
things and pondered them in my heart. However, this time I have confirmed this
and, therefore, could not keep quiet.
Not wanting to share ignorance in the name
of knowledge, I Googled “How long
does a nail take to grow”. The answers I got were between four and six months
for fingernails and much longer for toenails. By implication, I am very
healthy. This is on the assumption that the older you grow the slower the renewing process, until the degenerating process overtakes it. At the age of fifty, therefore, that is a very pleasant and reassuring discovery!
It is amazing how many things take place in
our body while we are unconscious of them. Our bodies literally renew
themselves while we go about our business. I am sure if I were to study a
little more of this, I may discover that the “me” that was born 50 years ago is
not the “me” that exists today. All the cells that made up baby Conrad have
since passed on and a totally different Conrad exists today. That is, of
course, if all I am comprised of is matter. Thankfully, I am a spiritual being.
This body is simply a tent in which I live. But what a wonderful tent!
Evolutionists will probably tell us that
aeons ago our fore-parents realised that if they did not renew themselves they
would die and hence they kick-started this renewal exercise within the body in
order to live longer. The whole thing is outrageous and comical!
The truth is that God made us in such a
marvellous way that while we are busy with our usual errands, the body would be
renewing itself, with old cells giving way to new cells. No wonder the Psalmist
exclaimed, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful
are your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14). I guess that is
simply a more godly way of saying, “Eureka!”
