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Medical Ministry
through nature. As they take exercise in the open air, restoration will
begin in body, mind, and soul. Life in the open air, away from the
congested cities, is health-restoring. The pure air has in it health and
life. As it is breathed in, it has an invigorating effect on the whole
system....
Those who are connected with our sanitariums should make
every effort to encourage the patients to live an outdoor life, so far
as it is possible for them to do so. Nature is the great physician
that will heal them of all their maladies, both spiritual and physical.
Everything that can be done should be done to give those who come
to our sanitariums for treatment the opportunity of living as much
as possible in the open air. The patients should have the advantages
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that are given by natural surroundings. Nature is the great restorer
of both soul and body.—
Manuscript 43, 1902.
An Elixir of Life
When a sanitarium is established in the country, the sick can
breathe the pure air of heaven. As they walk among the flowers
and trees, joy and gladness fill their hearts. It is as if the smile of
God were upon them, as they look upon the beautiful things He has
created to bring joy to their sad hearts.
Life in the open air is good for body and mind. It is God’s
medicine for the restoration of health. Pure air, good water, sunshine,
beautiful surroundings—these are His means for restoring the sick
to health in natural ways.
The fact that in the country all these advantages can be obtained
is a powerful incentive to the establishment of a sanitarium in the
country. There the institution can be surrounded by flowers and
trees, orchards and vineyards. The effect of such surroundings is as
it were an elixir of life.
It is worth more than silver or gold to sick people to lie in the
sunshine or in the shade of the trees. And whenever opportunity
offers, let those in charge of them draw lessons teaching the love of
God from the things of nature, from the lofty trees, the springing
grass, and the beautiful flowers. Every opening bud and blossoming
flower is an expression of God’s love for His children. Point them
upward to Him whose hand has made the beautiful things of nature....