By My Side: A Healthy Soul for a Healthy Life
by Chris Thomas
“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” -Galatians 5:22-23 NAB
My husband, David, grew up in the Texarkana area on a farm as his father did before him. His teenage days started early with many chores: feeding the cattle, weeding the garden, bush hogging the hills and pastures. He also enjoyed the freedom of exploring their hundred acres for hours and hours. Life had a rhythm that flowed with the seasons: the early spring was for planting, summer for tending and the late fall for plowing the gardens to let them lay fallow for the winter. Harvest took place in each of the seasons depending on what had been sown: onions in spring, tomatoes in summer, pumpkins in fall, turnips in winter. On the farm, he lived the truth that “a person will reap only what he sows.” Gal 6:7
We are each made of body, mind, and spirit. Planting and tending to the seeds of health in all three areas will bring about the harvest of a balanced and purposeful life. The fruits of the Spirit and spiritual health, as described above in Galatians 5:22-23, are each characteristics I desire for myself and my children.
Through his example, Jesus gives us many exercises to boost our spiritual health: worship, solitude, prayer, fasting, silence and service. Each of us has different ways in which we can work these into our lives. Our family worships with our church community on a weekly, and sometimes daily, basis. Most days I combine my spiritual exercises of solitude and prayer with my physical exercise by taking a long walk while listening to a daily podcast from www.pray-as-you-go.org. Just 12 to 15 minutes long, it includes a Bible reading, evocative questions, and quiet music. Alternatively, a corner of your home with a comfortable chair, Bible and a candle might provide a place for prayer for you. Fasting and silence can be combined by fasting from electronic devices for half an hour before bedtime and listening to the quiet of the house, the quiet of your heart. It is in that quiet that God speaks.
It is easy to think that you can’t possibly fit something else into your busy schedule. Being spiritually active is as easy as taking a moment to be really aware of your surroundings. This would be a positive way to spend time driving or waiting for the kids after school. The color of the sky, the sound of your child’s laughter, and the smell of fresh coffee brewing can remind us to be grateful for our many blessings. Each of us is gifted with the same 24 hours every day. What we choose to do with these precious moments speaks volumes about who we are and what we hope to harvest. Spiritual health ultimately is a matter of deepening your personal relationship with God.
Growing up on the farm, David learned what needed to be done and how to do it just by observing his dad who was working in the fields with him. Kids tend to pick up their parents’ habits, be they good or bad.
“Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our
harvest, if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9
