Last fall at the annual Wake County Library Sale, one of the books I bought, written by a podiatrist, dealt with why people's feet hurt. While the author discusses evolution in the introduction, so far the chapters have dealt with both scientific facts about the body and experiences from her own life and her practice. After reading four chapters, I can't help but put the book down and think of the verse from Psalms "we are fearfully and wonderfully made".
Did you know most of the bones in a child's foot remains cartilage until well after puberty? It's only after the foot stops growing that the cartilage solidifies to bone. How well designed is that? A female's foot will change sizes twice after that...during or after childbearing, and in the early 60's/ late 70's...due to relaxing of muscles, which allows the bones to spread. Again, how well thought out!
Also, circulatory problems can be detected in their early 30's (such as emphysema from smoking) even though other symptoms won't show up until twenty years later...by the color of the feet. I'd always heard Dad say you could always tell when a diabetic wasn't eating right by the swelling or discoloration in their feet, and I've since learned with other family members that the feet can also indicate how well the heart or kidneys are working. If the vital organs aren't functioning properly, one of the first places it shows is in the feet.
Unlike the Chinese, I've never considered feet beautiful. (In the rural and countryside of China, only immoral girls will wear sandals without hose or socks comparable to going bra less here). And yet I'm amazed to discover how vital and important our feet really are.
Five years ago I had to start wearing either orthopaedic shoes or a special tennis shoe. I hated it. But with two days of wearing correctly fitting shoes, my hip pains were 95% gone, my lower back totally disappeared, and the pain in my feet was 40% better. All because we correctly supported my arches. I would never have dreamed that something as simple as flat feet could cause so much pain throughout the body.
The more I learn about how our bodies, including our feet, interact, the more impressed I am with just how awesome our Creator is. His Design is amazing, and I long for the day when we are given the perfectly designed body free from all curses. When I think about how intricately designed this broken body is, I can't even begin to fathom what awaits.
Did you know most of the bones in a child's foot remains cartilage until well after puberty? It's only after the foot stops growing that the cartilage solidifies to bone. How well designed is that? A female's foot will change sizes twice after that...during or after childbearing, and in the early 60's/ late 70's...due to relaxing of muscles, which allows the bones to spread. Again, how well thought out!
Also, circulatory problems can be detected in their early 30's (such as emphysema from smoking) even though other symptoms won't show up until twenty years later...by the color of the feet. I'd always heard Dad say you could always tell when a diabetic wasn't eating right by the swelling or discoloration in their feet, and I've since learned with other family members that the feet can also indicate how well the heart or kidneys are working. If the vital organs aren't functioning properly, one of the first places it shows is in the feet.
Unlike the Chinese, I've never considered feet beautiful. (In the rural and countryside of China, only immoral girls will wear sandals without hose or socks comparable to going bra less here). And yet I'm amazed to discover how vital and important our feet really are.
Five years ago I had to start wearing either orthopaedic shoes or a special tennis shoe. I hated it. But with two days of wearing correctly fitting shoes, my hip pains were 95% gone, my lower back totally disappeared, and the pain in my feet was 40% better. All because we correctly supported my arches. I would never have dreamed that something as simple as flat feet could cause so much pain throughout the body.
The more I learn about how our bodies, including our feet, interact, the more impressed I am with just how awesome our Creator is. His Design is amazing, and I long for the day when we are given the perfectly designed body free from all curses. When I think about how intricately designed this broken body is, I can't even begin to fathom what awaits.
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