Soul Food

I’ve made a delicious discovery! Whatever I feed my soul just before I go to sleep is what it chews on all night long.

For instance, if I’m concerned about how to accomplish all I need to the next day, I end up planning the whole thing during my sleep. I used this technique when I was writing my thesis over ten years ago. If I had an unresolved piece of research, I could reread all sides of the issue just before going to sleep, and by morning I would have resolution.

Fast forward to now.

If I go to bed with a tiny worry about this spasm, or that feeling of frustration at not being able to get my tongue to be more articulate, the thing grows to monstrous proportions and I wake up in despair.

But…

If I go to bed meditating on God’s Word and His goodness, I wake up optimistic and victorious with a song of praise darting through my mind.

I’ve been experimenting with this for several weeks, and I can tell you that it works!

Last week there was an incident where I tried to walk too far, and the harder I tried to get there, the slower my legs would go. It was very frustrating! That night I read through Psalm 23 several times and felt deeply comforted. The next morning? A song I haven’t heard since the 70’s was running around in my head: “Because the Lord is my shepherd I have everything that I need. He lets me walk in ‘la-la-la’ (can’t think of all the words! ☺), he leads me beside the quiet stream. He keeps on giving life to me and helps me to do what honors him the most. Even when walking through the dark valley, valley of death. I will never be afraid, for he is close beside me. Guarding, guiding all the way, he spreads a feast before me. In the presence of my enemies, he welcomes me as his special guest. With goodness overflowing, ‘la-la-la’ and unfailing kindness, he will be with me all of my days, and afterward I will live with him, forever…forever…in his home.” Remember Dick and Carolyn? We sang it as a quartet sometime in the days before we had kids. We had to practice it dozens of times because…well, just because…and through all of those practices God was embedding it into my heart for a feast some 35 years later. What a God!

I’m realizing that even as I choose to feed my physical body healthy food, so also I must choose to be disciplined about what I feed my soul.

Cute example: Last night I was talking to my brother Ron and his wife Donna on the phone and when I mentioned that I was just about ready to write a new blog, they asked me the theme. We discussed this idea of “soul food” and they concurred. A few minutes later I went to bed. When I awakened this morning, the words of an old Dallas Holm song were whirling through my brain: “Set your hearts on things above…set your hearts on things above…Yeh…you’ll soon discover more than you’ve been dreamin’ of…Think about the father’s love…Think about the father’s love…And you will feel it when you set your mind on things above.” Reminds me of the verse in Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is steadfast.” Wow!

My next doctor’s appointment is December 13. I am looking forward to seeing how he perceives my condition. I think he’s going to be pleasantly surprised at how slowly this disease is progressing. Both of our kids’ families are coming to our house to celebrate the weekend before Christmas. We’ve moved in now, but the house isn’t finished. There’s still a lot to do, but each day it’s fun to see the progress. Many friends have helped us in dozens of ways. Bottom line? God is taking good care of us.

H-m-m! Let’s see, it’s morning now, but I’m already planning what I’m going to feed my soul tonight. I think I’ll munch again on Psalm 103! That’s one of my favorite soul snacks.