Sunshine in the Soul
March 6, 2008
Greetings, Prayer Team!
I am supremely privileged to write to you today from a land filled with sunshine, where only a few wisps of cloud dare to dash across the sky. A brilliantly fine day indeed.
Since my last message to you, my eyes beheld spring’s first daffodils, themselves the hue of sunshine. I stopped in my tracks, breathless with wonder, to telephone my mother and share the good tidings. In the absence of my mother, I phoned my sweet friend who pointed me to a place where I might also behold spring’s first violets.
All this came just two days after my first encounter with a childhood favorite, the Satin Flower. I drew my first wildflower that day, translating its shapes and shades into pencil and paper.
If you took biology in school, you’ll remember that plants gain energy from sunlight. How grateful I am to the God of the sunshine for bringing the flowers out of the earth! You’ll also remember that skin exposed to sunlight, specifically ultraviolet B radiation, produces Vitamin D. Vitamin D, in turn, promotes calcium and phosphorus absorption, a strong skeleton, and anti-tumor activity in the body. Thus, exposure to sunlight (as long as we don’t blister and burn) brings healing and strength to the body.
I’ve noticed a marked difference in people’s energy level when the sunshine comes out and the days begin to get longer. My data is entirely unscientific. However, I feel the change in my own bones, and long to leap and frolic among the bird songs.
The same health and happiness apply to our souls when they spend time in God’s light. “For you who revere My Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” Malachi 4:2
Thank you for your prayers over last week’s education rally in Lewiston. I’ve heard tell it went very well.
On behalf of Patsy Wagner,
Heidi C. Corder
Assistant, Office of Philanthropy