Melatonin

We bought a sixty dollar swimming pool for the kids this year at Aldis. Yes, you can buy swimming pools at Aldis. You can buy almost anything at Aldis depending on how stocked they are, but I digress...(we love Aldis). It sits in the back yard atop a ten foot diameter circle of dead, brown grass, and my children have been in it every day this week. Even though it only fills up to about two feet deep, I have enjoyed it too. Blow-up rafts float just as well in a kiddie pool as they do in the ocean and are just as relaxing.

Having spent so much time in the sun, my kids are all nicely tanned. Chemically, the sun reacts with their bodies releasing melatonin which turns the skin to a golden brown. Melatonin also regulates the circadian rhythms of the body which make you sleep well and feel rested and happy. In short, being tan makes you happy, and it is the work of melatonin inside your body that makes you tan. That's why you come out of the tanning bed after ten minutes of relaxation feeling like a million bucks. Melatonin...it's at work in your body to make you feel better.But it's not the only thing at work in you.

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 2:13

We go through life almost completely unaware of the chemical elements working inside of us, regulating our internal systems and keeping us going, but we must never forget that there is another force at work within us. This force is not focused on helping us sleep better or making us feel good. This force is not designed to fight off disease or make our hair and nails grow fast. It is the force of God's love working inside of us, giving us the power to do what we could never do on our own - live a life that is totally pleasing to him. This may sound like a condemnation to some, that it's impossible to live in a way that would satisfy God's perfect nature. Rather, it's a huge relief! Even though we are imperfect, God's power works within us to make it possible to live a life that will make him happy and bring him joy.

We could never make ourselves spiritually tan, but God is working in you and me to do just that. And who doesn't love being tan?