In my ministry work, I have the beautiful blessing to meet many women and hear about their lives. It is incredible the dedication these ladies have to their family, work, and faith. But, I also see and hear how exhausted these women are. Their minds, bodies, and spirits are tired. The pressures of the world today can be overwhelming. They believe God is calling them to say “yes” to every request made of them by others.
I completely understand this. I am someone who likes to get a lot done. I have a list (okay a couple of lists) of what I need to accomplish every day. I also keep a weekly, monthly, and yearly goal calendar. My written down intentions to take care of myself often get pushed to the bottom of the list and sometimes just get crossed off. I can’t make it the gym because I have too many emails to respond to, the promise to take 15 minutes daily to pray with scripture gets forgotten and taking time to sit quietly and mentally refresh never materializes.
It can be difficult to find the healthy balance of taking care of others and ourselves. Can you relate to this?
It can be easy to forget or deny the need to love ourselves. If we are not loving ourselves with spiritual, mental, and physical self-care then we can run dry. Jesus tells us we must love others as we love ourselves. (Mark 12: 31). If our well is empty, then we have nothing to give to others.
I think we all know the safety presentation given before a commercial airline flight takes off. They remind us how to fasten a seat belt (if you don’t know how to do that then you really need to take some time off!) But, what do the flight attendants say about the oxygen masks? “Secure your mask before assisting those around you.”
That instruction, I feel, applies to life. We must take care of ourselves first if we are going to take care of anyone else properly.
“Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’
So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.”
Mark 6:31-32 NIV
So, let’s remind ourselves that there is only one of us and we are special. We need to take good care of this life that God has given us. If God is at the center of our self-care, it draws us back to Him. When we find ourselves refreshed and renewed in God, our mind, body, and spirit will be able to truly love the Lord and we will be able to actively share that love with family, friends, and the world.
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