In the Country
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tunity will be afforded for giving the patients instruction concerning
the love of God and the Eden home of our first parents, which, through
the sacrifice of Christ, is to be restored to man.
In the effort made to restore the sick to health, use is to be made
of the beautiful things of the Lord’s creation. Seeing the flowers,
plucking the ripe fruit, listening to the happy songs of the birds, has
a peculiarly exhilarating effect on the nervous system. From outdoor
life men, women, and children gain a desire to be pure and guileless.
By the influence of the quickening, reviving, life-giving properties
of nature’s great medicinal resources, the functions of the body are
strengthened, the intellect awakened, the imagination quickened, the
spirits enlivened, and the mind prepared to appreciate the beauty of
God’s word.
Under these influences, combined with the influence of careful
treatment and wholesome food, the sick find health. The feeble step
recovers its elasticity. The eye regains its brightness. The hopeless
become hopeful. The once despondent countenance wears an expres-
sion of cheerfulness. The complaining tones of the voice give place
to tones of content. The words express the belief, “God is our refuge
and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
. The clouded
hope of the Christian is brightened. Faith returns. The word is heard,
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
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fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort
me.” “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in
God my Saviour.” “He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have
no might He increaseth strength.”
Psalm 23:4
;
Luke 1:46, 47
;
Isaiah
40:29
. The acknowledgment of God’s goodness in providing these
blessings invigorates the mind. God is very near and is pleased to see
His gifts appreciated.