Mary C. Earle - Marvelously Made: Gratefulness and the Body

Once in a while, a book opens an entirely new world. Marvelously Made: Gratefulness and the Body, quite unexpectedly, did that for me.

For centuries Christian theologians have recognized the Book of Nature and the Book of Scripture as the two books of Gods revelation. Humans come to know God (and themselves), this view goes, through meditating on the natural world and through reflecting on Scripture. Mary Earle awakened me to a third book, the Book of the Body. While technically a chapter in the Book of Nature, the human body has been routinely ignored by Christians seeking Gods revelation in creation and thus, in its late rediscovery, deserves its own billing as a third book. Marvelously Made unveils the power of the body to reveal God.

This piercingly beautiful book starts with Earles own journey to the discovery of the sacredness of the body. The second section invites the reader into meditations on different organs of the body. Deceptively simple, the meditations took me very deep very quickly, stripping off layer after layer of what gets between me and God. For example, the breath prayer in Chapter 4 on the lungs, Breathe (inhale) in me (exhale), cut through my defences, inviting me to freedom. As I invited God to breathe in me, I became aware of the barriers I erect, the ways in which I assume I must clean up my act before I can let God in. How can you ask God to breathe in you when you are eating food that isnt good for you, when you are overeating, when you arent exercising enough? a voice within me protested. That is precisely when you need to invite me to breathe in you, the quiet inner promptings responded. I meet you where you are and I bring healing and freedom. As I continued to pray the breath prayer over subsequent days, I became aware of how I take my body for granted, and of how I ignore it so that I wont have to face its vulnerability: my aging, my fear of illness, my fear of dying. The meditations helped me embrace my vulnerability. In so doing, they paradoxically also helped me live with more freedom and gratitude for my body.

Mary Earle is eminently qualified to guide us on this journey. Her deep wisdom about Gods manifestation in the body comes from her personal experience of living with a chronic ailment, from her theological training, and from her experience as a spiritual director and retreat leader. She knows intimately the journey of vulnerability, of befriending her body and meeting God as she gazes on Gods marvelous handiwork therein. She knows how to invite us gently into the same experience.

We cannot be grateful for what we dont notice. We cannot honor what we fail to see. These simple yet profound words from the opening of Chapter 2 continue to haunt me. I was blind to the Book of the Body. Marvelously Made opened my eyes to the potential for meeting God in this unexplored territory. May this wise little book bring you the freedom, gratitude, and wholeness that it is bringing me.

Margaret Benefiel

Author of Soul at Work

and The Soul of a Leader

March 2012

This book came about as a result of my facilitating quarterly Saturday morning gatherings for exploring spirituality and health at Health Texas, a medical practice in San Antonio, at the invitation of my family practice physician, Melba Beine, M.D. Dana Martinez, R.N., has been instrumental in helping me think about topics for those gatherings, and the participants have helped me become increasingly aware of the God-given gift of our bodies.

I am grateful for the community of my home parish, St. Marks Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas. Their support and encouragement of this writing vocation is a gift beyond measure.

I am indebted to the staff of Church Publishing for their flexibility and steady support along the way, especially Ryan Masteller and Nancy Bryan, and to my editor Cynthia Shattuck.

Gabrielle Marcus, massage therapist, and Damian Cortez, trainer, have offered perspective and encouragement as this book was conceived and began to take shape.

I am grateful to friends who are physicians whose wisdom and skill have shaped my own reflections: Bill Smith, David Dean, Melba Beine, Steven Cohen, Keith Eyre, Joycelyn Theard, Seema Dar, Nancy Otto, and Harry Gunkel.

My sister, Susie Cohen, R.N., has graciously read the manuscript for technical accuracy; any remaining errors are my own. Susie taught me to be amazed when the body heals.

To my husband Doug I owe profound thanks for walking with me through the physical difficulties of the last year, and for yet again being a thoughtful and encouraging first reader.

All the stories in this book are true, though the names have been changed to protect the privacy of those who generously gave me permission to relate their experiences.