Oh, I just love great quotes and here is one that is so appropriate for the new year. "Why do you hasten to remove anything which hurts your eye, while if something affects your soul you postpone the cure until next year?” I love this quote because it is so me. I am such a procrastinator, I put things off until I am forced to confront and deal with them. Usually when I do this, my stress level goes through the roof. It is true, when something pains us physically we do all that we can to get rid of it. We remove whatever it is that is hurting us, or we go to a doctor that can give us the cure to get rid of our ailment. Should we not be doing this in our spirituality as well?? YES!! God equips us with all of the tools that we would ever need to get rid of spiritual pain. I have learned this and have practiced it for a while...do not keep company with the things (or people) that are causing your spiritual turmoil or that are affecting your witness. This is a hard step because it means separating yourself from what you think you need to have fun. The thing that causes most Christians so much pain is the constant battle of flesh vs. spirit. It is an eternal battle against yourself to make the right decisions, but once you make the right decisions in your day to day life, you realize it's not that hard at all.

God challenges us all to examine our lives carefully. Where are our priorities? Where are we investing our time and energy? Is it causing us spiritual pain? If things aren't lining up the way you would like, take them to God. He is the Great Healer, the Almighty Phyisician. Simply put, He IS.