What might wellness look like to you? I like to imagine myself fit and healthy, resting, relaxing and reading at the beach, feeling calm, unhurried, unworried and happy. Preparing to stretch my limbs and swim or run along the shore, perhaps. The reality? Quite a bit different, actually.
There are numerous organisations and activities solely aimed at showing us how to achieve a beach-honed body and a relaxed mindset. Yet any change they provide is often transitory. Because most of us have a way of falling back into the bad habits that got us unhealthy and stressed in the first place. Sad but true.
Truth is, I would love to be strong and well. Many have prayed for that to happen over the years, and on the surface it looks like their prayers were in vain. But that’s not true. While I still battle with having M.E and chronic illness, I have a soul balm that soothes me on the inside, found in my relationship with Jesus Christ.
What if being well, healed and whole was more of an inside job than we imagine? With external and internal assistance from God. Because the greater miracle, the alternative healing could be learning to live well with our problems and challenges, instead of being cured. And that is a path that will lead to our soul’s deeper wellness and tranquillity.
Wellness could look like having faith enough to trust all will be well even if it doesn’t look like it yet. God will always help us to be well equipped for everything we might face. We just need to ask for His help and receive His grace. You and I may not be “in the pink” or have everything “coming up roses” but we can rest in being perfectly known, cared for and loved by God. And in knowing He will eventually make all things well for us.
Longings
I want to sit
in the safest of places
cradled close
where your soft love-light is
where genuine peace exists
I want to abide
branch out with Spirit fruit
gaining strength
trust in your providence
stay rooted deep in Christ
I want to rise
like a bird freed from her cage
with hope and joy
well equipped and supplied
ready to face all of life
I want to stand
give my testimony of faith
and have courage
to go where you direct me
to minister to others
(C ) joylenton
Once again, I’m delighted to be joining my five-minute-friday poem with the talented community of fellow wordsmiths gathering at our gracious host Kate Motaung’s place as we write on this week’s prompt of “well.” You are warmly invited to join us here and read the great variety of posts being shared. 🙂
Poetry Joy 
Joy, your words calmed me. Inspired me. “I want to rise like a bird freed from her cage”. Praise be to Our living balm, Jesus Christ!
Julie, I think most of us would want more freedom than we already have, whether in body, mind or soul. The great thing is that we can rise in our spirit and soar far higher than we ever thought possible in the flesh. May God give you wings, dear friend, and uncage anything that still holds you captive. xo 💜
Oh yes, thank you Jesus! Soaring in His spirit is potential that blows our human minds away.
Doesn’t it just? We get a taste of it on earth, with the promise of so much more to come. ❤
Dear Joy,
Yes, I love these thoughts and the question that you voice here: “What if being well, healed and whole was more of an inside job than we imagine?” He is asking me that very thing, and He is meeting me there on the inside as I look to where He dwells in my heart. While I too would long to run or walk on the beach again, I am continuing to ask Him for His grace to wait for His timing. I know He is at work in this process, even when it feels like nothing is happening that I can see. Thank you for your beautiful encouragement dear friend! Blessings, hugs, and love to you! xoxo
Dear Bettie, once more I am awed and amazed by the way God gives us similar thoughts at the same time! I see how you really do understand the challenge and invitation wrapped up in the question you responded to. We are so dependent on God’s grace and only He can give us the renewed perspective we need to see soul freedom differently. And we learn and grow in the process of walking in the dark, with faith shining like a candle to light the way ahead. Our trust muscles stretch to fit each season we are in, especially when we can see nothing visibly happening yet. May you stay encouraged, dear friend! He is with you every step of the way as you move towards accepting new treatment options and a changed consultant. Do not fear. You are constantly in my thoughts and prayers. Blessings, love and hugs to you too! xoxo 💜
” You and I may not be “in the pink” or have everything “coming up roses” but we can rest in being perfectly known, cared for and loved by God. And in knowing He will eventually make all things well for us.” Yes, we can rest in the love of God, knowing that He is always there and will always accomplish His purposes for us and for the world.
I love your poem! So much healing does take place on the inside. And by resting and trusting in Him, we can soar like the eagle!
Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear sister/poet/friend! xoxo
Dear Gayl, I wish I remembered to rest more in the love of God and my belovedness before Him. It’s something I still struggle with at times, along with low self-esteem. And yet, as you say: “He is always there and will always accomplish His purposes for us and for the world.” So true. May that thought help us to rest and trust in God and “soar like eagles” even if we feel more like fragile sparrows! I hope you are less busy than before and can rest in every way possible in the days and weeks ahead. Blessings, love and hugs to you too! xoxo 💜
I like that Julian of Norwich quote!
It’s a good quote but a hard one to accept at times. For many of us our natural tendency is to express a degree of fear for the future or even believe that disaster awaits around every corner. But our faith in God helps us to stay steady and stable during life’s rocky seasons and to trust the days ahead into His hands. May we be given the gift of faith enough and inner rest and peace as we wait for the future to unfold! xo ❤