Born in Missouri, Dr. Deborah Craton grew up in Bedford, Indiana, and was in the last graduating class of the old Bedford High School. She did her undergraduate work at David Lipscomb College (now Lipscomb University) in Nashville, Tennessee, and received her M.D. degree from Indiana University Medical School in Indianapolis. After fulfilling a residency program in Gadsden, Alabama, she and her family moved back to Bedford, where she has practiced family medicine since 1984. She married John Craton, a classical music composer, in 1978, and they have been married now for 40 years. Together they have three grown sons, two daughters-in-law, several cats, and a number of grand cats.”
Mind, Soul & Body 2021
January 2021- New Year, New Word
Contentment
Challenged with the idea of “New Year, New Word,” I chose “Contentment.”
In the past few months I have challenged several people with the following
question: What is the difference, if there is any, between being happy, being content,
and having joy? Several ideas emerged from these various discussions – some
enlightening, some rather sad. Most of the people I queried concluded that happiness generally comes from
outside a person: an event, occasion, or person makes another person smile or laugh.
Therefore, one is “made” happy. Happiness generally is fleeting. Although it can last
for seconds, hours, or days, there usually is another event, occasion, or person that
eventually causes the smile to fade and the laugh to be silent.
Happiness can be fleeting. Another idea brought forth in our discussions is that joy is deeper feeling of happiness and is less fleeting. Although like happiness, joy also is brought on by things outside ourselves, it can becomes a part of the person. Joy, therefore, is not as fleeting as happiness, but it too can fade with time – it can be lost to subsequent events in life. Finally, the consensus about contentment seemed to be that contentment comes
from the inside and is a state of being; it is the condition of being “complete.”
To be content is to be complete, yet at the same time always striving to be more. Contentment
is finding oneself largely “immune” to the daily ups and down of life. Such is not to say
that a person who is content invariably has a smile on his face; nor is it to say that the
contented person is always serious and restrained. The person who knows contentment
instead has a certain peace about them. As the apostle Paul states in Philippians 4:11-12,
he had learned how to be content in whatever state he found himself, whether hungry or
full, in want or in plenty. He knew that Christ would give him strength in all things. The
writer of Hebrews states a very similar perspective: Keep your lives free from the love
of money and be content with what you have, because God has said “Never will I leave
you, never will I forsake you.”
So we can say with confidence, “ the Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me.” (Hebrews 13:5-6)Contentment also has an effect on others, assuring those around them of the
positive aspects of life, even in the midst of turmoil. As St. Seraphim of Savor once said, “Acquire the Spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved.” Contentment is an infectious quality – the kind of infection we desire to spread. But we must remember too that although contentment is a state of being, it is not
stagnant. Because contentment lies within our relationship with Christ, we must continually seek Him. As we seek Him, we continue to grow. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3-9 that we are to add to faith, goodness; to goodness, knowledge; to knowledge, self-control; to self-control, perseverance; to perseverance, godliness; to godliness, mutual
affection; and to mutual affection, love. If we continue to grow in these attributes, then contentment may be obtained and maintained thru Christ.
The world would have us believe that if you aren’t happy all the time then there is
something wrong with you or with your life. It wants us to believe that if we don’t
enjoy every moment of every day, then we must remedy that – by taking medication,
drinking alcohol, finding sexual pleasure, etc. The world sees happiness and joy only
coming from outside pleasures. As followers of Christ, we know that true contentment
comes instead from our relationship with Him and through serving Him by humbling
ourselves before others.
Happiness, joy, contentment … which will you chose in this new year?
Find your own word for 2021 at https://www.dayspring.com/yourwordquiz#/home
February 2021
Love Is…
February always has us thinking of love. When love is mentioned, the first think
we think about, almost always, is romantic love. We think about mushy cards, bouquets
of flowers, poems, and Hallmark movies. We think about Cupid with his arrows,
Shakespeare and his sonnets, and Jane Austin and her books.
Personally, I think about a time when I was walking around David Lipscomb
College campus with my beloved and he stopped, held my hands, looked deeply into my
eyes, and asked, “If you knew you were going to get a shirt, would you want to know if
it was a blue shirt or a green shirt?” We kept walking because I had no idea what he was
talking about. Further down the path, he actually asked me in a way I understood to
marry him!
But, as CS Lewis pointed out in his book The Four Loves, there is more to love
than romantic love. There is love such as we have for animals, friendship, romantic love
(eros), and agape – God-like love. Most of us at some time have had a beloved pet. I, for example, have always loved cats. My husband was a dog person until after we married and we got Dixie Cat.
She was a calico kitty who was given to us from some people at church. She was a great
cat and lived with us for 19 years. She helped raise my sons and basically taught them
to walk. My husband has loved cats ever since Dixie Cat, and we have never been
without a cat during our 43 years of marriage.
Who doesn’t remember their best friend from childhood? We loved them like a
sibling! Gloria and I started kindergarten together, and although our paths are quite
diverse now we still stay in touch. They say that if you remain friends for more than
seven years you will remain friends for a lifetime. Friends are those folks who when the
two of you are discussing a topic you suddenly discover, “You too?!?” You find that you
share with them something in common, something distinct from the interests of the
masses. The relationship starts there and, if you are lucky, evolves into a strong and
lasting bond. A friend is that person who can sit beside you when you are going through
dark times and needn’t say anything … it is sufficient just to know they are there.
Sometimes we are fortunate enough to marry our best friend!
Romantic love (or eros) is tricky. It can happen quickly, like being hit by a bolt
from Cupid, or it can creep up on you like a fog rolling in. In romance novels there is
much made of “falling in love” and “being in love.” There are some people who thrive
on the feelings one gets as they “fall in love.” It’s exciting, it’s new, it’s like watching
fireworks! But it seems that “being in love” is more stable: it’s warm, it’s all encompassing and longer lasting. What makes eros work, in my opinion, is to be in love with your beloved and always be falling in love with them as the years progress.
Finally, there is agape, or God-like love. This is the love God has for His creation.
He loved mankind so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for us! That Son,
Jesus Christ, told us that the first of all the commandments is to love God with all our
heart and soul, and that the second was like the first: love others as we love ourself.
God is love. He always wants what is best for us. He is always caring for us. Our love
for our fellow man should be the same: wanting what is best for the other person; caring
for them. A description of this God-like love is given in I Corinthians chapter 13. It is
patient, kind, does not envy or boast. It is not proud. It doesn’t dishonor the other
person, nor is it self-seeking. God-like love is not easily angered, and it does not keep
track of wrongs. It does not delight in evil but always seeks the truth. It protects, trusts,
hopes, and perseveres … always.
The interesting thing when looking at this definition of God-like love is that the
other three loves all have elements of agape in them, but only agape includes them all!
Since February is the month of love, let us think on all these loves … love for
creatures great and small that we take into our protection, from hamsters to horses; love
for friends across this world – both those we see daily and those we only “see” on social
media; love for our beloved, whether it’s been a short time or many years; and love for
God and His creation – man. Let us exhibit the qualities Paul discusses in his letter to
the Corinthians.
Remember, love isn’t always fireworks, Cupids, and Hallmark movies.
Sometimes its just knowing if you want a blue shirt or a green shirt!
March 2021
New Season, New Beginnings…
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
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a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV
March always makes people think of Spring, a new season, new beginnings. The green one
sees in the early spring is like no other green. It’s fresh and new. But there are new beginnings
all the time. There are new seasons all through life. One new season in life is that of marriage. When a couple decides to spend the rest of their lives together, there are BIG changes. Living with someone is different than being with some one. It’s those little things that come to the surface of relationship: she hogs covers at night, he leaves the cap off the toothpaste; she wants the toilet paper to come off the top, he wants it to come off the bottom. Adjustments must be made.
The birth of a child begins a new season to a couple’s life. Oh how things change when that
cuddly, squirming, “fresh human” is brought into the home that first day! The household’s
routine is different. Responsibilities change for the parents. New considerations have to be
addressed for work schedules, mealtimes — even sleeping times and arrangements change!
When the children leave home to start their own lives, there is another change in the seasons. Life is different again. A couple needs to get to know each again. They need to establish new activities they both enjoy.
One of saddest new seasons in life is when a partner dies. The partner that remains prefers
not to face the new beginning. Everyone has an opinion on how it should be faced. Friends,
coworkers, and children all think they know what is best. But only the person approaching the new season of their life without their partner knows what is best for them.
The best new season of any individual’s life is when a person takes on the new life in Christ.
What can be better than being clothed in Christ, being washed of sin, and being made pure… pure as a winter’s snow!
Just like any new season in nature, life’s new season begins with change. Without change there can be no life. Spring does not say, “The leaves don’t have that beautiful green anymore, so I quit!” No, that spring green gradually changes to the deeper green of summer.
The deep green leaves are indicative of a stronger leaf, one that can withstand the summer storms. As the next season rolls through, the leaves change color yet again…..orange, red, yellow! But alas, then the leaves fall: But they provide ground cover and nutrients for the next year’s growth. And, finally, winter comes. The leaves can’t be seen, but they are there, hidden in the stems, just waiting to burst out in the spring.
Seasons are about change. Life is about change. Nothing can remain the same if it is to grow.