Food for Thought

Our Food for Thought for this week comes from an article written by Sarah Eshleman in Answers Magazine:

              My friend Laura and I use the US map to direct each other to itchy spots on our backs.  “Move over to Maine dig into Delaware.  Idaho was itchy.  I have a persistent tickle in Rochester NY just out of reach no matter how I twist my arm.”

              God created skin as our bodies first line of defence.  When something potentially harmful brushes against it, like microbes or harmful insects, the skin sensory neurons sound the alarm with an itch.  The brain answers the call by prompting us to deploy our finest defenders: fingernails.  Scratching produces a small amount of pain.. In response, the brain shoots out serotonin, a pain relieving chemical also known as the happy hormone.

Scientists have barely scratched the surface of understanding the body’s intricate itch signaling.  But we do understand that a good back scratch does more than give us sweet relief.  It declares our dependence on others.  There's something vulnerable about having areas on our body that we can't reach.  But what is more satisfying than finding a friend willing to relieve our tickle torment?  

The creator who gave us a network of skin sensory neurons delicate enough to detect a stray hair or speck of dust also made us for depending on a network of others to help us work through grief, travers disappointment, or take a scratchy stroll from Oregon down to Florida.  at this point you're probably feeling an itch somewhere on your mid back.   As for me Rochester is calling; if you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.

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You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.                                                                                                            Psalm 139: 13&14 (NLT)