![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/12\/2-8-1024x683.jpg\")
After attending Calvin College, a Christian liberal arts school in Michigan, Thelen went on to medical school before completing her training in Huntsville, Alabama. She and her husband, Matthew, a Navy veteran and engineer, eventually settled in Fayetteville, where they raised their two sons, Isaac and Jonah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI never thought I\u2019d live in rural Tennessee,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cBut now, I can\u2019t imagine being anywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a family medicine physician, Thelen\u2019s days are never the same. One morning might include well-child visits, while the afternoon could bring consultations with patients managing chronic illnesses or end-of-life care. Her amazing staff tends to all the details that make it possible for Thelen to do what she does best. \u201cI tell my patients they\u2019re driving the car, and I\u2019m in the passenger seat with the maps,\u201d she said. \u201cThey choose the route, and I\u2019m here to guide them \u2014 whether that\u2019s through lifestyle changes, medications, or a combination of both.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That philosophy aligns perfectly with lifestyle medicine, an evidence-based approach that focuses on preventing and reversing disease through nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, and faith-centered living. Thelen is pursuing board certification in the specialty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I was in medical school, we got little training in nutrition or true wellness,\u201d she said. \u201cWe were taught how to fix disease with medications or procedures, not necessarily how to prevent it. Lifestyle medicine teaches us how to help people thrive \u2014 not just survive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Thelen, faith and medicine are inseparable. \u201cThere were moments during training when I questioned if this was really what I was meant to do,\u201d she said. \u201cBut every time, God confirmed that this is exactly where I\u2019m supposed to be. I see medicine as a labor of love \u2014 a way to serve the Lord by caring for others. It\u2019s such a gift when I can pray with someone or talk about hope in the middle of a difficult diagnosis,\u201d she said. \u201cEven for patients who don\u2019t share my beliefs, my faith shapes the way I listen and care. I see every person as made in God\u2019s image.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When she\u2019s not in the office, Thelen finds peace outdoors \u2014 a habit she believes reflects the healing order of God\u2019s creation. \u201cBeing outside centers me,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter a hard day \u2014 maybe losing a patient or delivering tough news \u2014 walking my road or going camping reminds me of the bigger picture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her love for nature bloomed from childhood when her parents took her camping across Michigan. Thelen admires parallels between the natural world and the human body. \u201cEverything in creation is interconnected,\u201d she said. \u201cOur bodies are the same way \u2014 one imbalance affects everything else. It\u2019s a beautiful design.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She recalled a vivid experience from a mission trip to Peru, where a local shaman used tree sap to heal severe insect bites. \u201cWithin an hour, they were completely gone,\u201d she said. \u201cThat experience reminded me that God has placed incredible healing resources in nature. We just have to be humble enough to learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether she\u2019s treating a toddler with an ear infection or helping an older patient manage diabetes, Thelen\u2019s care comes from the same source \u2014 a deep belief that love heals. GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" DR. SARAH Thelen has spent the past 15 years caring for patients of all ages, from newborns to centenarians, at her small-town practice in Fayetteville. Grounded in faith, compassion, and a deep respect for what she believes is God\u2019s design, her approach to health care reflects a quiet revolution in modern medicine: the rise of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":195,"featured_media":25027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cover"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/12\/6-3-1024x683.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/12\/4-8-1024x683.jpg\")