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Viewpoint from Norma Borrett 29/11/2019
 Norma Borrett
Member of pastoral team, Seventh-day Adventist Church
as published in the Great Yarmouth Mercury
Throwing in the Towel
We have all given up on something, at one time or another, be it a boring novel or New Year’s resolutions. Let’s be honest! Throwing in the towel, to use an expression, is easy, especially when it comes to that most valuable, least appreciated of assets- our health
At the biannual free health screenings our church offers at Market Gates shopping centre, passersby check their key health factors- blood pressure, blood sugar, body mass index, and carbon monoxide levels- and get instant feedback from qualified nurses. The data doesn’t lie and inevitably lead to conversations that begin: “I know what I need to do, but... (fill in the blanks)”. The ‘reasons’ are many, but the end result is always the same- Something important gets disregarded
 Regrets, even confessionals, create opportunities for encouragement to not throw in the towel. The best encouragement of all is the ‘posterchild’ who can testify to the good things that come to those who give themselves the fighting chance. She was a slight, cheerful lady who stopped by the screening table to satisfy her curiosity. Her readings would have been optimum for a healthy woman in her 40s. But she was double that age, and she regarded her health, mobility, and zest for living, a boon in late life and her most valuable treasure. How had she managed to pull off this major health coup, while many had not? What was her secret?
“Maybe they gave up too soon!” came her enlightening response. I wondered, why are we so often not bothered that better is actually on our side of the fence. Jesus, when he was on earth, cared about people’s physical, mental, and emotional wellness. In fact, the central tenet of the gospel is that real change is attainable. But Jesus also knew that the thief of wellbeing operated through such ordinary and unassuming mindsets as apathy, disinterest, and giving up on oneself simply by doing nothing. “The thief” he warned, “comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy”. For us, the ‘thieves’ are the obstacles that come between us and our best life. In John 10:10, Jesus states: “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full”. Faith is not something that we measure in our health screenings, but it’s the most vital of vital signs. Faith is not throwing in the towel
 Norma Althea Borrett
Norma Borrett grew up in a Christian family in Cardiff, Wales; spent 27 years teaching high school level English language, arts, and drama, first in Bristol and then in California. She currently lives in Suffolk and works in ministry alongside her husband who pastors the Adventist churches in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. She writes and edits for her church’s publications
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