Today we were introduced to, and are now introducing you to Elisha who is a former school teacher and now a homeschool mom. Her blog is titled Mindful Heart and Home. I do love that she transparently shares the challenges of life with her readers.
In November, after a stressful day, she wrote:
…Have you ever had days like this?
How do you reset?
Do you throw in the towel and wait for the next day?
…I decided to stop and embrace a pause.
In that pause I felt God’s gentle reminder that I am enough. I’m not a failure because my plans did not get accomplished. I could hear Him tell me that out of all the mishaps, I loved my kids well today…
Several days later, she continued this theme:
“May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.” – Psalm 103:34
…Cue autoimmune flare ups. The thing about autoimmune diseases, at least the one I am diagnosed with, is that stress is a major catalyst for flare ups. Refusing to pause, and ignoring the signs my body is screaming for me to STOP sends me to bed for days. I feel as though I am hit with a terrible flu bug, my body feeling completely exhausted, migraines, and pain from neck down my spine. These episodes where I am unable to take care of myself and family is my reminder to embrace a PAUSE.
The best way I have been able to embrace my pause is through meditation. Instead of filling my mind and body with the stress of to-do lists, playing my fears and failures on repeat, or comparing myself to others on social media. I begin pouring bible verses, uplifting songs, helpful podcasts, and soaking up the sounds of baby giggles into my heart. I cling to these joys and truths in my moment of pause. It allows my heart to meditate on the comfort and promise of God’s word. This grounds me, calms my nervous system, and allows my body to feel at peace instead of a flare up…
The post by Elisha we actually chose to share today appeared just hours ago. I invite you to send her some “link love” by reading this at her site, and I’ve closed comments here so that you can leave some encouragement there instead. Click the header which follows.
“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”– Mark 1:35
When you hear the term self care do you immediately think what a selfish thing to want or do you think spa day, shopping spree, and Starbucks?
Self care shouldn’t be a term that makes you cringe or feel guilt. It should be a term that you should embrace in your daily life as act of loving the person God created you to be and giving thanks to your creator.
God took six days to create the beauty all around us and then rested on the seventh. He commanded his people of Israel to take sabbath on the seventh day to do nothing but wait and trust in Him. Jesus took time to be alone in order to spend time with his Father in prayer.
These are spiritual acts of self care and a daily practice we should incorporate into our lives in order to refuel and find our grounding. This allows us to come closer to God. It helps us to embrace a much needed pause in our busy day to praise God for his blessings. It helps us to realign our expectations by asking God to show us what needs to be done and where our focus needs to be that day. It takes our focus off us and puts it on God.
So as a hardworking, on the go, busy mama that you are; you may be wondering how do you possibly implement this act of spiritual self care?
⁃ On your drive to work talk with God or turn up that praise and worship music and sing your heart out.
⁃ while you’re watching your kids play, give thanks to God for these amazing little humans that he trusted you to raise up.
⁃ Instead of reaching for your phone in the morning reach for your bible and fill your heart with His truths
⁃ Have a dinner or game night free of distractions and talk about things you’re thankful for or what God is doing in your lives.
⁃ Find a few minutes each day to retreat in a quiet place to connect with God.
This act of spiritual self care gives us the opportunity to be intentional with God. Through our act of pause, prayer, and worship we are putting aside our pride and self sufficiency and admitting we can’t do it all.
How will you begin practicing this act of spiritual self care? Leave a comment.
Christianity 201 