copyright Jeanne E Webster

The inner person…who goes there? A mystery to be investigated. We see the “house”, but who lives within? Who is the “tenant” living at ________?

Welcome to my house. It’s getting old and shabby, I know. It’s not a big house, only five feet and two inches. The roof is a medium brown and grey tweed, blending well with the olive tinted exterior. What really pops are the two deep-blue windows which reflect the distinctive characteristics of the tenant…ME! Come on in and let’s get acquainted.

Howdy! It‘s nice to meet you. By the way, I just love your house. Really cool roof color. Don’t mind my house; it needs a new coat of paint. But I won’t be needing it much longer.

Did you know we are made of three separate parts? Yep, we have a body, mind and spirit. We’ve already compared and sized up the bodily component. Voila, ready or not, here we are! Our houses have a way of standing out, don’t they?

It’ll be harder for you to see my inner person, my mind and spirit, mainly because they are intangible. So sit down for a spell and listen up; you just might learn a thing or two about me. Maybe I’ll learn more about myself too.

A mind is a strange thing. Mysterious and eerie, like a jet plane flying so high in the sky, one cannot see it, only hear it. Sometimes it’s occluded by clouds. We’ll never figure out all the dynamics of our minds, because they are quite intricate organs. I strive daily to know my inner self. Even the Bible advises us to “know thyself”. Easier said than done, right?

My mind is a tool that helps me survive, to understand the world around me. I have learned responsibility and a moral sense of right and wrong. I have free will rights to anything I want to do, but along with this free will comes a conscience, an entity I can’t see or hold, yet it is there as certainly as my physical aspects.

I’ve heard the still small voice of my Creator that bids me love others as He loves me, forgive others as He forgives my sins, and to tell the “good news” to the world. My mind knows His voice and my body obeys His directions.

My spirit is that essence within me that searches the recessed corners of many rooms in my house, making sure that all is well. It’s that “finger to finger” touch Michelangelo portrayed in his fresco of Adam reaching out for God. I find it a vital exercise for my physical and mental health to reach up and touch God’s hand every day.

Hopefully you have gotten to know me better, and I look forward to peeking inside you one day. Let’s end with an exercise that involves all three aspects of the inner person…prayer.

Pray always, earnestly and fervently. And take the time to reach up for God; He’s reaching down for you. Shalom.