Nourishing Your Spirit

We've heard a lot about Nourishing our bodies lately and that's a good thing.  My first introduction to the importance of nourishing the bodies of myself and my children was when my mother asked me if I thought that my children's stomachs were the color of the Koolaid mustache they often wore.  I don't think she was being mean.....she was actually wondering herself.  I was also studying to be a certified childbirth instructor at the time and nutrition was part of my studies.  The journey began.

It wasn't until years later that my real life journey began, my journey as a child of the living and true God and I accepted the sacrifice of my Savior Jesus Christ.  Now, being guided by the Holy Spirit, I realized that we are also triune beings. We have a Bodies that need nourished, but we also have a Spirit and Soul that needs nourishing and it is all connected in a very intricate way.

Life itself is so much more than simply the foods we eat.  We are not merely machines that need the right oil or fuel to function.  We are a Body, Soul and a Spirit.  A very large part of our physical health is a direct result of our spiritual health and how we view our world and our God is an important part of it.  If we worship our Father God in fullness, our attitude will reflect a full and abundant life that glorifies God.

In order to go forth with Grace we must start with a solid spiritual feeding each day.  In Luke 4:4 Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."  We need that daily Bible reading, prayer and meditiation on the Word of God.  Once well fed we can tackle our duties with the awareness that we depend fully on God's abundant grace to help us to accomplish whatever the day may bring us.

I do not mean for a single minute the we wait until we "feel" God's grace on us before we begin performing the tasks God sets before us.  I would never say that!  Through faith we get on with the job that is at hand.  As we go forth in obedience, we can trust in God's grace for the fulfillment of those duties in just the way He has planned for us.  Trusting in Him brings peace, rather than anxiety about the number of things we are trying to accomplish.  As long as we diligently go about our tasks, He will bring about all that He desires for us, each day.  All this gives us the comfort and energy that we need.

God's Garden by Robert Frost

God made a beatous garden
With lovely flowers strown,
But one straight, narrow pathway
That was not overgrown.
And to this beauteous garden
He brought mankind to live,
And said: "To you, my children,
These lovely flowers I give.
Prune ye my vines and fig trees,
With care my flowerets tend,
But keep the pathway open
Your home is at the end."

Then came another master,
Who did not love mankind,
And planted on the pathway
Gold flowers for them to find.
And mankind saw the bright flowers,
That, glitt'ring in the sun,
Quite hid the thorns of av'rice
That poison blood and bone;
And far off many wandered,
And when life's night came on,
They still were seeking gold flowers,
Lost, helpless and alone.

O, cease to heed the glamour
That blinds your foolish eyes,
Look upward to the glitter
Of stars in God's clear skies.
Their ways are pure and harmless
And will not lead astray,
Bid aid your erring footsteps
To keep the narrow way.
And when the sun shines brightly
Tend flowers that God has given
And keep the pathway open
That leads you on to heaven.