God loves us so much that he has ensured that every single part of our being has the ability to be healed and whole. The difficulty lies in taking the time to do what it takes to maintain that prime level of healing and wholeness.
Today, I spoke with a longtime sister-friend of over 30 years. Time, circumstances, situations and life (in general) has taken its toll on both of us in various ways. We talked about the reality of how we tend to neglect the time required to take care of our entire being. More specifically, taking the time to heal from death and loss. All too easily, we find ourselves in the grind of life, struggling to keep up or maintain, yet we still call it "living", when it's more like surviving. I use the word surviving because that's what you do. You attempt to maintain existence or normality in the midst of danger, accidents, hardship, and ordeals. I would never say that those phenomenons won't visit you at some point in your life, what I'm saying is those things occur to teach, build, mold and shape us. We're meant to experience them when they happen, glean what we can from it and then move on to that state of healing and wholeness that God has always intended us to have.
Today, I spoke with a longtime sister-friend of over 30 years. Time, circumstances, situations and life (in general) has taken its toll on both of us in various ways. We talked about the reality of how we tend to neglect the time required to take care of our entire being. More specifically, taking the time to heal from death and loss. All too easily, we find ourselves in the grind of life, struggling to keep up or maintain, yet we still call it "living", when it's more like surviving. I use the word surviving because that's what you do. You attempt to maintain existence or normality in the midst of danger, accidents, hardship, and ordeals. I would never say that those phenomenons won't visit you at some point in your life, what I'm saying is those things occur to teach, build, mold and shape us. We're meant to experience them when they happen, glean what we can from it and then move on to that state of healing and wholeness that God has always intended us to have.
So, I began to think about what prevents us from pushing past the point of pain and entering into that state of healing that God intended. 2 Timothy 1:7 came to mind. "God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, love and a sound mind." For me, I realized anything opposite of those three things is rooted in the spirit of fear...which God did NOT give us.
…but of power…
…but of power…
If there is something or someone that makes you feel as if you are powerless, deficient, less than or weak, I would say that it solely exists to be used to transform, to be healed and to be whole when coming out of that situation.
…love…
Anger, disgruntlement, irritation, lack of patience can be tools that are distractions, rob you of time and energy and prevent you from the healing peace that comes with love.
...and a sound mind. Your spiritual self is older than your physical self. How do we know that? Because the Bible says, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;” (Jeremiah 1:5) So, why do we tend to ignore that part the most? In my opinion, it is the pinnacle part of our self that has the ability to determine the health of the mental and physical part of ourselves.
So, when we administer the daily task of cleaning our exterior (showering, bathing, brushing teeth, etc.), we would experience great benefit in taking the time to take daily care of our interior (our mental and spiritual side). Call it a daily devotional, lectio divina (and for those that need a condensed version, there is a 3 step method) or meditation, your spiritual side requires just as much if not more maintenance.
So, when we administer the daily task of cleaning our exterior (showering, bathing, brushing teeth, etc.), we would experience great benefit in taking the time to take daily care of our interior (our mental and spiritual side). Call it a daily devotional, lectio divina (and for those that need a condensed version, there is a 3 step method) or meditation, your spiritual side requires just as much if not more maintenance.
Remember to take care of your WHOLE being.
