The Climb Toward Soul Health
Soul Health Matters, even when I am waiting to heal.
I have been thinking about the road to soul health.
At times, it seems long and winding and uphill; we wonder how long we will have to wait until we “arrive”, we wonder when our soul will finally be whole and healed. The song, “Come to Jesus, by Chris Rice has a poignant line:
“Sometimes the way is lonely and steep and filled with pain,
and the sky is dark and pours the rain…” (Come to Jesus, by Chris Rice)
How goes your journey right now? It it steep or lonely? I think we all feel this way at times and need reminders to keep climbing. Each of us faces difficult seasons, but the rain will stop and we will find some “downhill” eventually.
Recently, I experienced another “layer” of my personal onion-shell being removed and there I found fresh pain in an old wound.🥺It surprised me, really, because I thought that particular wound had been healed. (If I’m honest, I figured it was “scarred over” and secretly, I hoped it would never surface again).
So there I go, starting another uphill climb, up a steep embankment of choosing love, forgiveness and kindness, (again). A friend reminded me that God is always at work to move us toward our best self; a self that honors him the most. So yes, there are deeper layers that are not always pleasant to address, but address them I shall. Because…
SOUL HEALTH MATTERS, however many layers!
If we wait until we “feel” better to pay attention to soul health, we may wait a long, long time. Even if we feel sad or nervous or unsure – can we find some hope to try again? Healing of the soul won’t come by itself – but it will come. It will happen when we press forward to try again or acknowledge our desire for soul health and watch for new ways to grow. Sometimes we find it in moments of tender soul-searching, other times it comes at us unexpectedly and knocks us on our backside!
Springtime is just around the corner. I like to call it, HOPE-time. This change of season is one of the best ways to literally witness God’s plan of new life and rebirth! If we let it, it reminds us of the hope we experience anytime we see soul health returning.
HOPE-time: The arrival of “Anything is Possible!”
Hope to reconcile after a conflict…
Hope to stand again after a fall…
Hope to find a new path forward after a wrong turn…
Hope to connect with a new friend after a season of loneliness…
Even…hope to take a new peek into an old wound. (Sigh)
Hope is a celebration. Whether it is a special milestone, a birthday, or a moment of clarity. It remembers the truth that God is always at work, even on stormy days with steep uphill climbs.
Hold on.
Hold onto faith. “Now faith brings our hopes into reality… it is all the evidence required to prove what is still unseen.” (Heb. 11:1 TPT). Hope helps us hang on through the storms of winter and and dream of the “spring” to come!
Share why spring-time means HOPE-time for you!
I would love to hear from you. Email me at Janet@JanetMarksAuthor.com