Healing and Water

Saturday, June 11            Savona Kiessling            Healing and Water
Gathering get to know you questions: 
1.    What aspect of water is most important to you?
2.    What are some bad/amazing experiences you have had with water? 
Share highs, lows, and God sightings 
Reflection: 
Water has tremendous healing potential for the human mind, body and spirit, and its healing capacity as a medical treatment is well-documented historically. Hippocrates (father of modern medicine) felt that nature should be used to heal the body and was a strong advocate of baths as medical treatment nearly 2500 years ago. For thousands of years, it has been known to help cure illness, refresh the body, and relax the mind.  Water calms the body which in turn allows one’s mind to relax.  Water can even reduce the pain signals sent to your brain via your nervous system, temporarily relieving chronic pain.  The simple sound of water has the power to lull one to sleep.  Adequate water consumption hydrates us and washes away toxins from the body.  The Finns have been happily sweating in saunas (a Finnish word) for thousands of years.  Believe it or not, but there are 3.3 million saunas in a country with 5.3 million people. Heck, even in the game Stardew Valley, soaking in the bathhouse restores your characters energy.  Ask yourself – are you fully incorporating the healing powers of water in your daily life?  Are you allowing water to heal you?      

Scripture: 
2 Kings 5:1-14 (summarized)
Naaman, a general in the Aramean military (current day Syria), suffered from leprosy.  When a young slave girl in Naaman’s household (taken from Israel) saw the infliction, she said that the true God in her homeland could cure him. Naaman’s king sent Naaman to the king of Israel (Joram) with a letter and gifts, asking that Naaman be cured.  Joram got pretty stressed out since he didn’t have the ability to heal, but when the profit Elisha heard about the request, he asks for him.  But Elisha didn’t meet with him; instead, he sent his messenger telling him to wash himself in the river Jordan 7 times.  This insulted Naaman and he was about to head home, but his servants convinced him to do it.  After washing himself 7 times in the river Jordan, he was healed.   
Questions: 
1.    Knowing that God prefers to work through ordinary people, who were doing God’s work in this story?  
2.    Do you think the river has any symbolism?  
Prayer: Oh Lord, only you know how hard life has been for me.  Only you feel my pain and understand my discomfort.  Only you have been within each moment to comfort me.  Break through the loneliness of my suffering.  You have encountered sorrow and laid a path hope and healing.  Your healing costs me nothing.  I am not alone.  In your name we pray. Amen