Lent Day 15 - Letting Our Souls Live
Although there are only two of us in our household now, I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time each week deciding what our main meals will be, shopping for all the necessary ingredients and finally cooking. I also try to have a selection of things in the fridge and pantry to choose from for our lunches, including some cake for my sweet-toothed husband or any visitors who might drop in. All this takes planning and effort, but I do it because, after all, we need to eat – although perhaps not quite as much or as often as we do!
Lately, however, it has dawned on me that, in focusing on all this physical nourishment, I may well be short-changing myself in other areas. Like everyone else, I need emotional nourishment – the love of family and friends, the fulfilment gained through writing, the enjoyment of reading, listening to music, marvelling at the beauty of nature or watching an uplifting TV show. I know the danger of missing out on such things and I know I cannot give out to others in any meaningful way if my own emotional tank is empty. Yet when there is too much else to do, I can easily ignore such vital nourishment.
But what about the deepest part of us that we call our soul? It too needs to be nourished, perhaps even more so than our physical bodies and our emotions. If our souls are dead, if that light has gone out inside us, if that firm connection with God is lost, then life can indeed become rather dull and meaningless. We are not at peace with God or within ourselves – and that is certainly not the most pleasant way to live.
Recently, I read the following beautiful invitation found in Isaiah 55:
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.
Isaiah 55:1–3a
Yes, I decided, I need to take time to come and enjoy that rich fare my soul longs for. So one morning, I headed to a nearby spot with a beautiful lake surrounded by bushland. I used to go there regularly to reflect, write, enjoy the beauty of nature and be with God but, somehow in the busyness of life, this had slipped from my agenda. How wonderful it was that morning to sit there again, with the sun warming me all over as I contemplated the lake before me. The breeze ruffled the surface of the water so that it sparkled in the sun, while nearby, a family of ducks swam serenely past. I savoured it all, sensing God’s presence everywhere around me. Soon I could feel a wonderful peace deep inside, bringing much-needed refreshment and breathing life into my soul once again.
Taken from God Moments by Jo-Anne Berthelsen
Does your life seem too ordinary to include moments where God breaks in?
God Moments shows why even the most seemingly ordinary life experiences can reveal God's riches if only we would stop and notice. Based on her personal experiences, Jo-Anne Berthelsen shares how apparently mundane scenes or events in daily life have created unexpected 'God moments'.
Grounded in Scripture, the 101 uplifting devotions in God Moments encourage us to open our hearts to our extraordinary God and look for him amid our own ordinary routines.
Reflection
May your soul be nourished and renewed too as you take time to draw close to God, listen well and delight in that richest of fare only our wonderful God can provide