Spiritual Health

What is spiritual health?

Spiritual health is the part of yourself that helps you find meaning, connectedness, and purpose in your life.

It helps us to cope when faced with change, illness, death or any other life difficulty that breaks us down. It is a source of hope and strength for when understanding and strength are long gone.

God is my personal source. I cannot imagine life without my Heavenly Father.

Whatever religion or philosophical practice guides your life the key to a healthy spiritual life is to be in an intimate relationship. Like any other relationship, the more we nurture it, the more life-giving it becomes.

This requires us to invite our source into our life every day - yes, even when things are going great. The more we seek to know our maker the more present he will be and more evident our life meaning and purpose will become.

A Daily Walk with your Spirituality

It took a life crises for me to learn how to walk with God daily. It wasn't until I was completely broken that I turned to Him. It's sad, but it's true. The beautiful part is that God was there. He waits patiently for all of us. If you care to, you can read about my experience here.

Everyone's 'seeking' and 'personal walk' will look different, that's what makes us uniquely us! It may feel unfamiliar at first, but with habit grows familiarity and with familiarity grows a constant companion you will come to know and love. Below are a few ideas to get started. I hope one or more feels like an invitation to you!

How you begin and end your day sets the tone for how your day unfolds.

Coffee with God - My first cup of coffee arrives differently every day, but my first cup is always shared with God. We're very informal - just as a coffee break should be!

I pour my cup and say, "Hello Father, let's sit for a while." I then spend time in His Word; you can read from your Bible, but I have been using the First5 App for my daily

devotional. If I'm at home, I journal a few pages, if on a break at work, my commute or

Start with prayer - Set your alarm 15 minutes earlier and spend your first moments with God. I start with this little prayer, "Good morning, God, thank you for this day. May I seek you and place you first in all I do. May I seek your voice and your hand as I walk through the day and may my life be a reflection of you. May my life bless others." From there I just talk with him. There are prayers of petition, questions, fears expressed, gratitude noted...all the things you would share with your most intimate friend.

anywhere else, I count five blessings and close with prayer. This usually takes 20-30 minutes, but it's stillness reaches far into my day.

Focus on others - Purposefully seek one person to bless each day. You'll be amazed how live-giving (and fun) this becomes when you are focused others.

Count your blessings - Start and close your day with gratitude. In the time of my brokenness, I came across my grandfather's rosary that sustained him during WWII where he was a prisoner of war for seven years. The smooth beads worn flat by his hands gave me great comfort. I chose to fall asleep whispering a gratitude for each bead. That was 15 years ago but lives on even today.

A healthy spiritual life leads to

a healthy emotional life. Spiritual

individuals strive toward a better life

and consider personal growth and

fulfillment a central goal.

Having a spiritual foundation allows

you to focus on your internal values

and work on becoming a better person; the person you were intended to be.

Lastly, and certainly not the least, a spiritual life means you never walk the journey alone.