Hop on Board the Soul Train!

John 15:12 My command is this:  Love each other as I have loved you.

On Monday, February 5th I took our beloved rescue dog Rocky to the sleepy town of Roanoke for his haircut and overall checkup.  For Rocky, it is necessary to schedule both of these appointments at the same place, at the same time.  Leaving the comforts of his own home causes Rocky dog tremendous anxiety.  I just want to give a public "shout-out" to all of the pet lovers reading this who own "anxiety-free" pets.  I have heard that this quality in a 4-legged canine makes life easier; however, Momma Vaughan really wouldn't know this first hand.  Praise God that Rocky is a lower-maintenance pet than our previous one.  Rocky has never flown through the neighbor's doggie door and eaten a pound of their chocolate Valentine's candy.  Rocky has never chewed an entire package of sugar-free gum.  Finally, Rocky has never been rescued by a contractor at our home after falling into the swimming pool.  Coco would earn those amazing awards.  She is no longer with us.  Bless her chocolate, chewing gum-lovin' little heart.

When I picked up Rocky from his recent appointment, the technician handed me a "Wellness Health Report Card."  In that moment, it was as if the world stopped while I reviewed this detailed document.  The cashier waited anxiously for me to pay; however, I needed to take a hard look at how "MY dog" had scored.  Housed within this two page document was great information, and words such as ideal, responsive, permanent, cleaning/polishing, time, best health and love.  As I made the drive home, I wondered what it would be like if God handed each of us a "Spiritual Health Report Card" today.  Would I also carefully analyze the information?  How would I score on my report card?  Would this document reveal I am spending an "ideal" amount of time with God?  Have I been "responsive" to His will for my life?  What "permanence" do praying, reading the Bible, and serving have in my daily routine?  What parts of my life need a good "spiritual cleaning?"  What attributes of my relationship with God need a little "polishing?"  Am I in the "best health" spiritually that I can possibly be?  Finally, am I an instrument of God's "love" to those around me?

Every day, we see tragic, indescribable evidence of a hurting world, a world with empty souls and hurting hearts.  There are no easy solutions to the problems prevalent in our society.  However, I just have to believe gradual change might permeate our culture if we all spent more time loving those around us.  When I was growing up, Saturday nights in my home included gathering around the TV to watch Soul Train.  Soul Train, an American music-dance television program, aired in syndication from 1971 to 2006.  The show featured a "soul train line."  In this segment of the program, everyone danced, clapped for one another, cheered for each other and made certain that no one in the soul train line felt alone.  The smiles on the faces of all the dancers were truly indescribable. The show celebrated connected souls.

Ann Voskamp, the author of the New York Times bestseller One Thousand Gifts recently tweeted this quote:  "Life's not about growing your career, your bank account, your retirement fund, your platform, your status - life's about growing your soul."  It is time for us to pause, in our every day lives and tend to our souls.  Analyze our spiritual health report cards.  Tend to our families' souls. Tend to our friends' souls.  Tend to the souls around us that desperately need to feel the love of Jesus.  Let's dance.  Let's cheer for one another.  Let's connect in such a way that no one feels alone.  Are you ready?  Hop on board the soul train.