You must make time for spiritual nourishment

This week I am going to give you a small glimpse into my personal life. I teach school full-time, I am a minister, I attend seminary and I write faith articles for the newspaper.

I can usually keep my schedule compartmentalized and organized, but once in a while, overlap happens. Yesterday was one of those days, and it took God to get me through it.

I started at 8 a.m. by attending a computer class required by my school district. Three hours later I was working at a mid-school registration.

Three hours after that I was back in class and, during that block of time, I got a call from the church letting me know one of our members was in the hospital. I finished up by working registration from 4-7 p.m.

My day had no gaps or time to eat built in. During the times I was at school, my mind kept planning how I was going to provide pastoral care to my hospitalized friend. The concern was always in the back of my mind even, as I tried to give my full attention to my mid-school students. When I was in class, I kept thinking about all I needed to do to get ready for school to start.

At times I felt overwhelmed and frustrated, and I wondered if I was getting too old for the job although, at 55, I should have a few good years left. As I fell into bed that night, totally exhausted, I thought about how much people try to accomplish in our society today.

Are we doing anything well? Is it really what we should be doing, and when do each of us take time to spiritually nourish ourselves?

Ephesians 3:14 and 16 says, “This is why I kneel before the Father… I ask that he will strengthen you in your inner selves from the riches of his glory through the Spirit.”

We all need to take a break from our daily lives and nourish our own spirit. Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit to bring calm and reason into our lives. He meets all of us where we are and provides what we need.

What I needed to do was write in my prayer journal. Each day I write down things that I need to discuss with the Father. I write about the blessings that He has given me.

I write prayers for those who are suffering or face natural disasters. Finally I record the guidance He has graced me with.

I find that writing in a prayer journal lets me organize my thoughts and keeps me from being so scattered. I can also look back in the journal and recognize prayers that He has answered and the times He has said “No”.

It gives the feeling that I have a relationship with God and He values what I say to Him.

There are many ways to nourish your spirit but, the important thing is to take a few minutes with God every day because if you aren’t nourished, you can’t nourish others.