Welcome! Southwest Soul Care is an organization based in Tucson, Arizona. As the name suggests, it exists to support people in their practice of soul care. For those who are curious about what ‘soul care’ means and/or whether it is something you’d like to pursue (or continue pursuing), this blog is for you!
What Soul Care Means
Have you ever wondered what the word ‘soul’ actually refers to? If you look up its definition, as with other words, you’ll find a few different meanings. In the context of ‘soul care’, the word ‘soul’ references the whole of a person’s being. It encompasses the inward, invisible aspects of a person, such as thoughts, emotions, and will. It also includes a person’s embodied life – the outward, visible actions and social interactions that are motivated by and integrated with the inner life.
The health of each soul is significant. Soul health has everything to do with how we relate to God, others and ourselves, how and why we live, and how we experience life. Our souls need care in order to be healthy and to live the abundant, thriving life that God desires for us and that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). ‘Soul care’ refers to the special, loving care that we need for this health.
Soul care is, fundamentally, God’s gracious and incredible care for every aspect of our lives. As our Creator and the one who knows everything about us, down to the number of hairs on our head (Matt 10:30), God alone knows the perfect way to care for each one of us uniquely (Ps 62:5-7, Is 46:3-5, James 1:17-18, 1 Peter 5:7).
Have you ever wondered what the word ‘soul’ actually refers to? If you look up its definition, as with other words, you’ll find a few different meanings. In the context of ‘soul care’, the word ‘soul’ references the whole of a person’s being. It encompasses the inward, invisible aspects of a person, such as thoughts, emotions, and will. It also includes a person’s embodied life – the outward, visible actions and social interactions that are motivated by and integrated with the inner life.
The health of each soul is significant. Soul health has everything to do with how we relate to God, others and ourselves, how and why we live, and how we experience life. Our souls need care in order to be healthy and to live the abundant, thriving life that God desires for us and that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10). ‘Soul care’ refers to the special, loving care that we need for this health.
Soul care is, fundamentally, God’s gracious and incredible care for every aspect of our lives. As our Creator and the one who knows everything about us, down to the number of hairs on our head (Matt 10:30), God alone knows the perfect way to care for each one of us uniquely (Ps 62:5-7, Is 46:3-5, James 1:17-18, 1 Peter 5:7).
How Soul Care Works
God grants us the amazing opportunity to join Him in the work of care for our souls. It begins with the relationship of love that God initiates with us even before we are born (1 John 4:19, Is 46:3, Ps 139:13-16). We can respond by receiving God’s love and in faith opening our hearts to Him (Eph 2:8-9, Rev 3:20, John 1:12). In this receptivity, we nurture our relationship with God, and further receive and experience His excellent love and care, and it enables us to become increasingly able to love God, ourselves, and others well. It is a cycle of reciprocal love of God for us, and back to Him (1 John 4:7-12). Soul Care is an ongoing need and blessing throughout our moments, days, and entire lives.
God’s Instruction to Care for Souls
The care of souls is so important to God that He commands it. Jesus taught that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your being, and secondly to love your neighbor as yourself. He further stated that these two most important things we can do are the foundation of all other commands God gives (Matt 22:37-40). We can only follow God’s commands as a result of knowing God and experiencing His love, having it poured within our hearts (1 John 4:7-8, 1 Cor 13:1-3, Romans 5:5, John 14:21). Soul care is the means for growing in experiential knowledge of God’s love, so that we can better love Him, ourselves and others. His commandment to engage in soul care is a wonderful gift!
What Engaging in Soul Care Entails
Participating in soul care is not about seeking or earning health as an end in itself, nor insisting on health to look or operate in a certain way. The Bible explains that Christ died for us while we were sinners. He freely gave us the gift of salvation, the ultimate invitation and means to relationship with God, while we were in a state of great need (Rom 5:8). This principle is also at play with soul care. As we receive God’s love, we increasingly come to find that we don’t need to earn anything or achieve an outcome. We gradually learn to recognize and live from the reality that in our state of great need, we are loved and cared for by God as we are, and that experiencing health is an outcome of living in relationship with God.
It may sound easy to simply receive God’s love and care. It is…and…it’s also challenging. It requires intention and repeated effort, “practice” or “training”, to continually develop an inner life with God that is open to His love and leads to loving outward behaviors and interactions that are Christ-like (1 Tim 4:6-10, Phil 4:8-9, 2 Peter 1:5-10). Soul care can result in feelings such as wonder, peace, happiness, excitement, delight and calm; as well as discomfort, distress, awkwardness, confusion, sadness and pain. Thankfully, God in His kindness and generosity sustains and comforts us through it all, and provides us with everything that we need for this wonderful journey with Him. (2 Peter 1:3, Phil 4:19, Matt 6:33).
As soul care encompasses the whole of a person’s being, it is multifaceted and can take place in a countless number of ways. The key is that it is rooted in God’s love (Eph 3:16-21). Some examples of what soul care involves are listed below.
In reading through the list, it may be helpful to keep in mind that we do not need to focus on all of the items in the list, and not all at once (that is likely too much). Instead, God invites us to pay attention to what aspects of and approaches to our care that He is inviting us to grow in currently. Are there any items you feel especially drawn to?
- Deepening your connection with God through different types of prayer
- Scripture meditation such as Lectio Divina & Ignation Meditation
- Listening for and discerning Jesus’s “voice”
- Increasing self awareness
- Processing your life with safe, wise people
- Healing traumatic memories
- Spending time outdoors
- Recognizing and honoring limits
- Giving and receiving forgiveness and grace
- Growing in relationships
- Grieving losses
- Embracing change and accepting reality
- Belonging to and participating in community
- Spending time in silence and solitude
- Nurturing physical health
- Experiencing fun and play
- Caring for your home and personal possessions
- Stewarding finances
- Exercising creativity
- Adopting rhythms of work and rest
- Engaging & growing in vocation
- Therapy/Counseling
- Spiritual Direction
- And many more!
Southwest Soul Care is founded on the biblical principle, which is backed by modern neuroscience, that God has made us to grow and thrive in loving presence and support of other humans. We come alongside others by offering a few specific means of soul care, including spiritual direction. You can read more about spiritual direction, here.