Written by Wendy Neill
I am a regular at the pharmacy. The lady behind the register sees me coming and heads straight for the “Last Name of N” bin. The twins of Chronic Illness and Pain have made themselves at home in my house, so we spend more than we would like on prescriptions and vitamins to appease them.
One day, while waiting in the pharmacy, I spotted a collage on the wall of smiling faces of all ages. Underneath, it said: “Celebrating happy, healthy people”. Then, in beautiful cursive, was a quote: “The groundwork of all happiness is health.”
I whispered to myself, “Don’t believe it.”
If my happiness is going to be built on the foundation of good health, I am in trouble. Despite eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, staying thin, and drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day, I still experience pain, fatigue, nausea, etc. on a regular basis.
So what is the groundwork for happiness? The more I thought about it, I realized I only needed to add one word for that statement to ring true: “The groundwork of all happiness is spiritual health.” Loving and knowing Jesus, listening to the Father, serving others, and living for eternity brings happiness. Actually, strike that. They bring “joy”. Happiness seems too shallow, too fleeting. Spiritual health brings deep, abiding joy that helps me endure the pain.
So here’s to celebrating happy, spiritually healthy people. I pray you and I will be counted among them.