Editor’s Note: This article was written by Rev. Dennis Voth, Pastor at Arkansas City, Central Christian Church, and published in the church’s newsletter in September 2022. CCK has republished the article with permission.
Here it is almost fall and we have cooled off into the nineties and have had mornings in the sixties, but we are so very dry. As I write this article, I look at the forecast and don’t see much of a chance of rain in the near future and except for a couple of days in the eighties, we will be right back into the nineties.
Some trees are already shedding their leaves to protect themselves, the grass is brown, and in places, there are cracks in the ground. All symptoms of lack of moisture.
Dryness of the soul can also occur in our lives. There are many symptoms that reveal dryness of the soul such as sadness, depression, hopelessness, helplessness. We become locked into a pattern of routine and can’t seem to bring ourselves out of it.
Personally, I like a routine, but sometimes routines or patterns can be harmful. If we continually focus on the negative and not the positive, we can become paralyzed. We become lost in our own self-absorption. We may need to change things up in our daily routine.
The mind is very powerful and if we continually have our mind in a place that binds us from being open to new and different experiences or teachings, we can become bogged down, stuck in the mud so to speak.
We need to begin our day by thanking God. You may not feel very thankful but thanking God can begin the process of changing your thought pattern. It will give you an awareness of everything around you and not just focusing on yourself.
It is God’s will that we give thanks. This is not to say we need to be always smiling. Sometimes things in life are bad and we need to mourn and be upset, but it is in these moments that God asks us to thank God anyway. The trials in our lives are not pointless.