I learned today that March is National Kidney Month. The truth is that I don’t need a special month to focus on my kidneys. I am focused on my failed kidneys pretty much every day while I await word that there is a donor kidney available for me. The estimated wait time is five years, so I need to try to avoid so much focus on my kidneys and on all the daily dialysis hours that intrude on my days.
What I really need to focus on is myself, my soul that often shrinks into little depressive moments. Thomas Moore’s bestselling book, Care of the Soul, offers a revolutionary approach to thinking about daily life situations. Moore writes about a therapeutic lifestyle that focuses on looking more deeply into emotional problems and learning how to sense sacredness in ordinary things. Care of the Soul is thoughtful, eloquent and inspiring, filled with thoughts that can enhance the ways we care for the soul within us.
Caring for our souls demands that we view the everyday events of life through a religious and spiritual lens. The reality is that there is no problem, illness, or difficult life situation that doesn’t have the power to grab hold of the soul, squeezing the very life from it. Our spiritual and personal work is to recognize that, to caress our souls with tenderness, to open ourselves up to the gentle healing of God.
At times, all of us need to nourish and nurture our souls. At other times, we may even need to repair souls that are damaged by life’s slings and arrows. Yes, God does care about the health of my kidneys. But I have a strong feeling that God cares even more about the well being of my soul.
The Psalmist has words of wisdom for us:
“He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.”
Walking beside still waters, watching a gentle rain, listening to birdsong . . . whatever you find inspiring, let it restore your soul.
God of the Sparrow 🌱 By Kathy Manis Findley 