My
name is erythrocyte N and I’m just a normal red blood cell, undergoing my
everyday function of transporting oxygen to tissues.
My
life span is about 120 days (actually, in the erythrocyte handbook 1day=1year
for a man).
I’d
like to share an interesting series of events in my life with you: Up till
about 1 week ago actually, my life span was like 15days. I’d also been having
some challenges with oxygen transport and because of this my efficacy had
drastically reduced; I must confess. But anytime I fell short, I would humbly
go to the spleen where senile me would be destroyed and a new me would be
produced from the bone marrow. Pretty cool, right?
However,
I noticed something. Oxidizing agents kept coming my way, and their major
target was my ferrous iron…having figured correctly that when my ferrous iron
was converted to a ferric state, I became useless.
You
see, when my iron is in the ferric state, the hemoglobin in me is converted to
methemoglobin. And that’s a pretty sad state for me because I get all cranky
and could engage in pity parties.
Last
week Thursday, however, I went to visit my friend and neighbor; Erythrocyte M. M is an awesome fellow, and
he’s been alive for a very long time, and before now, I was oblivious to the
source of his relatively long life span! (am so not going back to that state #smiles#).
I opened up to M, and he told me this: “there’s a shunt known as the
Rapaport-Leubering Shunt. It has helped my iron stay in a reduced state all
this while. Instead of dying when my iron is oxidized, it just gets NADH (a
cofactor) that reduces it back”. I was wowed. “Are you serious?” I asked M.
“More than you could ever realize at the moment dear”, said my dear neighbor.
The
secret of life, was by my side all this while, and I’d been so oblivious. Just
so you know, I’m more fit than I’ve been all my life right now. My life seems
like its brand new everyday!
The
secret to abundant life is not far away. It’s not in short-term effectiveness.
You see, no temptation has come our way that is not common to man (or to other
erythrocytes). However, God, in his eternal faithfulness, always provides a way
out for us! In my case, this way out of my short-term efficacy was the
Rapaport-Leubering shunt. And yes, there’s a shunt for you too.
I’d
say you should always have this at the forefront of your mind, regardless of
your situation. Looking back now, am thankful for the presence of erythrocyte M
who showed me the way. When you find the
way, it’d be obvious to you that God can never forsake you.
And
then, you would experience, just like I do, a brand new life EVERYDAY!
With
love,
From
a transformed erythrocyte.
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