Homeschooling my elementary-aged son.
Keeping my 18 month old busy.
Continuing to do full-time ministry in a new and different way from home.
And supporting my husband and his full-time ministry work.
I don’t know about you, but I was a stressball last week. I’m a structured person who thrives on routine so last week hit me hard. I carried around so much anxiety, at times feeling like a weight was crushing my chest. Each day the weight got heavier and heavier.
All that to say, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to my mom, sister, and in-laws who took shifts to help care for our kiddos while we worked. They were such a blessing.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t pause and say that I know so many people had it MUCH worse than I did. People have their lost jobs and are already struggling to feed their families. Others have gotten sick, and many have died. My heart has been so heavy for them and their families this past week.
I honestly feel ridiculous for being as stressed as I was, but I’m just being real. I struggled to have joy and peace each day, and as a result, I was not the nicest person to my family at times.
Throughout the week, the Lord in his sweetness tried to remind me of the words I had just written for my devotional that morning. (Check out @The Encouraging Mom Blog Facebook page for all 6 days of devotionals that I wrote last week!)
I definitely felt convicted that sometimes it’s easier to write about truths instead of having to LIVE OUT those truths. In my stress and anxiety, I wasn’t fully believing the truths about God that I hold so dear.
As I reflect back on last week I could have taken better care of myself, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
For instance, I worked out a few times and our family took a couple of prayer walks in the evening, but there were days a quick walk around my neighborhood in the middle of the day would have done wonders to lower my stress. Endorphins and sunshine, please!
And my back and neck? Not having a good work space (I was confined to my closet or my bed to work) meant I was in quite a bit of pain most of the week. I went to the chiropractor on Friday, but I could have been doing some stretches throughout the week to help me feel relief.
I also could have talked more openly to my husband or a trusted friend about how I was feeling instead of bottling up my emotions and then spewing them out everywhere.
I practiced deep breathing but only once I couldn’t handle the growing pressure on my chest. I should have been taking those deep breaths anytime I felt the stress and anxiety start to build.
So why didn’t I care for myself better?
It doesn’t really make sense now in hindsight. But at the time, I believed the LIE that I was fine, self-reliant, and didn’t have the time to do those things anyway.
And yet, if I had just taken better care of myself each day, I would have been a much happier person to be around. I would handled my stress and anxiety better. And I would have been more mindful of the Lord’s presence throughout each part of my day.
You see, the point is not to take better care of yourself as the end-all, be-all. The point is to take better care of yourself so that you can be more in-tune with the Holy Spirit and more ready to do the work that God has for you that day.
A couple of years ago I wrote about self-care on my blog. I just re-read that post (you can read it here!), and this part struck my heart like a sharp arrow:
“I, in essence, through my lack of self-care, became a martyr. A tired and physically and emotionally worn out martyr. While this martyr mentality might get a few accolades from friends and might temporarily make me feel like Superwoman, I’m never the better for it in the end.”
That was me last week: a tired and physically and emotionally worn out martyr.
My hope this week is to change that. Our family has settled into a new homeschool/work/play routine, and I more aware of my lack of self-care after having some time to reset this weekend.
My prayer is that God would help me go through this week with more joy, peace, and patience as I depend more fully on him and as I do small things throughout each day to take care of myself spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally.
So what’s something today that you can do to help care for yourself better? Whether you’re stressed, anxious, depressed, or living your best life, I encourage you to think of ONE thing you can do today!
Today, my goal is to recognize when I need to PAUSE and take a quick walk outside to clear my mind, pray, and get some Vitamin D!
Friend, it really can be so simple! I’m praying for you as you do that one thing today! May you feel closer to the Lord as you care better for your soul, mind, and body.
Pressing on in faith, Jennifer