Spiritual Health

Dear Diary ,

Six months have passed and I didn't even know it. When this year started , we all thought 'New Year , New Beginnings'. But lo and behold, it didn't turn out the way we wanted to. We had hopes , expectations and so much more for the new year. Everyday we wake up , hoping that a cure or a vaccine has come , the day, we will get to go outside , meet our loved ones , hug and hold hands and have things be normal again. I would be lying if I said , I wake up everyday with a smile on my face. There are days , I wake up not feeling good inside. The day seem so long and I feel a bit hopeless but I try to let it not get to me. I just take my time and pray to God. Just tell Him how I have been feeling and suddenly I'm at peace and I feel refreshed. If not that day , the very next day , I wake up with renewed strength. By God's grace , I have been able to do my Bible study these past couple of months. I have tried it before but I always fail at being consistent and did not try to truly understand what I was reading. But this time , I felt like God was encouraging me everyday. It amazes me how much great instructions and life lessons that God teaches me through this study. The best part is when I get to share it with my husband , hoping that it might help him in the same way it helps me. This week , I was learning about the lame man who for 38 years , waited to be healed. Jesus heals him but does not leave him without telling him the importance of SPIRITUAL HEALTH. God gave him physical healing but also told him to maintain his spiritual health. It got me thinking , I take so much time and effort to take care of both my physical and mental health but do I take care of my spiritual health? Our body and mind may fail us but the Holy Spirit which God has given us , will give us strength. I started understanding that especially during this time where I come face to face with a lot of negative thoughts in my mind. With God's guidance , reading the Bible and praying really helped me grow stronger in faith and I am slowly able to annihilate every negative thought that comes to my mind. It's not always easy. There are days , I give in but then I'm reminded of Philippians 4:13 ''I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me''. There was a time where all I could was cry in the presence of God , unable to pray or utter a word. Romans 8:26-27 says , ''In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God''. How do you maintain your Spiritual Health ? By spending time in God' presence , praying and worshiping Him in Spirit and in Truth , reading the Bible through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and understanding His word and what He wants to tell us today. When you start doing it and surrender yourself to Him , you will start to see a change in your life. My perspective has changed and I have started to feel more positive. Happiness overflows and peace has come in my heart. There are bad days but I have faith that I will overcome. I began to introspect myself and realized that I needed to change a lot of things about myself. Now I feel more accountable for my actions like when I get angry because then God makes me realize that my anger was unwarranted and probably did more harm than good. Another important thing I learnt was to forgive , still in the process and learning. Now I'm learning to pray before I do anything or when I'm going through a tuff situation or feel down. With the comfort and strength God had given me , I was able to do the same for my husband , friends and family. This lockdown has helped me to come more closer to God. I encourage everybody to not just take care of your physical and mental health which is important but your spiritual health as well. Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them. Mahalia Jackson.