Mike’s Update “Soul Care” – November 10, 2014
“Soul Care”
“a pic from my personal retreat”
What is “Soul Care”? I think a good metaphor is seeing our interior world as a garden.
There is a gate on a street in Prague in one of the busiest areas of the city. It is in the midst of the push of masses of tourists, the squealing of brakes from passing trams, … noise, crowds, … the mind can not help but be overstimulated.
A step through the gate and one enters a different world. It is the entrance into a garden. It is a place of peace, rest, and quiet. It is a reminder that what restores life is simple, creative, and earthy.
I remember a hymn we would often sing at the Presbyterian church as a child “For the beauty of the earth, for the beauty of the skies…”
David wrote in Psalm 19 “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands…”
The Soul needs care. It needs to be tended like a garden. It needs to be protected from too much activity, too much stimulation, too much of anything that crowds out the value of a well watered place and walks with the Gardener.
This is a metaphor for what I help others do. I am grateful for the opportunity recently to take a few days in some Michigan wilderness for my own Soul Care. I am grateful to the many in my life who walk with me, pray with me and help me “care for my soul”.
Please pray for me as I help those who serve, “care for the garden of their souls”. Some of these gardens have not been tended for a long time. Some are struggling to remember the tender voice of the Gardener. Many have helped others but have not cared for their own garden.
Thank you for your prayers and giving that enable me to come alongside and witness the restoring work of the Gardener in the hearts of many.
In these next two weeks I will be leading three different spiritual retreats. Please pray for deep awareness of the Gardner in each of those who will join me.
Blessings to you!
Mike Bowden
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