As a women of faith something I struggled with when it came to taking care of myself was how to approach it in a biblical manner. We are called to serve others and I knew as a believer it’s right to make sacrifices and to be humble. I wanted to be a mom that honored God and didn’t want to be selfish or put my needs above my family. So instead of finding that balance I just pushed my needs and desires aside and put all my energy and time into my family life, home responsibilities, homeschooling and work.
I had people telling me it was important to take care of myself too and I heard about self care. I mean there are all kinds of self-help resources or new-age wellness programs for self-care . Constant messages in our news feeds portraying a self-focused view of self care .. basically saying give yourself whatever you want because you deserve it! I felt confused on what I should do to take care of myself in a God honoring way.
Then I discovered the term biblical self-care and dug deeper into what that was. It’s the spiritual practice of relying on Jesus Christ as our source for healing and our deepest needs.
When we practice self-care in the way Jesus modeled , we can find the true rest our bodies and souls need. When we take care of our mind, body, and soul we are honoring God and allowing ourselves to become a vessel that he can use to bless others. So as mom’s practicing self care in a biblical approach we are connecting to God and filling our cup in a way that allows us to serve and bless our families . When we take care ourselves the fruits of this practice are shown by our love, patience, kindness, self control, joy, peace, goodness and faithfulness as we go about daily life with our children, spouse and close friends/ family.
Before diving in on your own and trying to figure out what to practice for Self Care… spend some time in prayer, asking God to guide you in identifying your needs. Are you feeling spiritually depleted, emotionally drained, or physically exhausted? Write down what you feel led to focus on, and allow this to shape your self-care routine. When we start talking about self-care during our prayer time, we’ll find we will also begin to bring prayer into our self-care routine and God becomes a natural and comfortable part of our self-care routine.
Today I want to share a bit more with you on how to approach Self Care like Jesus modeled for us
🍃Cultivate a prayer routine where it’s just you and God
- Withdraw from the demands that need your attention and if possible even from the people we love and spend time alone with God.
- Jesus shows us this in Mark 1:35 “NIV 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.
- I will be honest I don’t find it enjoyable to get up when it’s still dark out, I do get up shortly before my kids wake or sometimes they are getting up while I’m still doing my time with God but they are at ages where they can entertain themselves while I finish up. I do find it beneficial to start my day with God. So finding a routine that works for you and your children is important but I do encourage seeking solitude with the lord each morning.
🍃Get honest with God
- We see many times In Scripture Jesus praying openly to God, sharing his anxieties and desires, showing a level of honesty and trust.
- Jesus shows honesty with his feelings of fear, aloneness, and physical pain. In Matthew 27:46
- Are there needs you have that you are avoiding?
- Are you keeping yourself too busy to numb pain, or prevent you from dealing with something difficult/ your inner truths.
- Are you binge watching Netflix to decompress or distract yourself
- Are you over exercising to try to look better on the outside to avoid dealing with things on the inside?
- Jesus wants to meet our needs so we can meet the needs of others.. it’s ok to be honest with God, he already knows our needs and what’s in our heart. It’s ok to let him in so he can show you what you need to truly feel better.
- I know it can be hard to dive into our hearts and be honest with God. We may feel shame, embarrassed or even surprised by what we uncover when we get honest with ourselves and God. You know what …he already knows whats inside our heart and he knows what we need .. so let him in so he can guide you .
🍃Rest like Jesus
- Self-care is taking time out to rest; even Jesus rested and advised others to rest as well. We see this In Mark 6:31-32 “And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.”
- Jesus rested when his body needed it, we see this in scripture when he sat down by a well to take a break
- Jesus made time for sleep, like in the story when took a nap in the boat during a storm. He didn’t let the situation of being in a boat in a storm stop him from taking care of his body and his needs. This is a good reminder to us that life will always be going on around and us and people will always need us if we make ourselves available 24/7.. let’s be like Jesus and listen to what our bodies need .
- Jesus made rest a habit “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”Luke 5:16 seek rest in spending time in prayer and doing it consistently will help you feel more at peace. We don’t need to do everything on our own. Seek the lord and let him take your worry, fears, anxiety, stress away and feel rested knowing he’s taking care of you and the things In your life.
- Jesus was aware of his limits and he honored them by stopping to rest when we knew he was reaching his max. Listen to your body, when you’re feeling exhausted it’s time to slow down and take a break or go to bed earlier to get sleep. If your heart is beating faster and your feeling more irritable it’s probably a sign you need to pause and even just take a few moments to catch your breath and calm your body.
🍃 Society glorifies busyness, and this often leads to burnout and mental illness. Moms we don’t need to follow the patterns of society anymore, let’s follow the patterns Jesus modeled to us instead . It’s time we practice biblical self-care, taking care of what we have been given by God, so we can give back to his kingdom. Jesus understood that self-care is essential for the work of the Kingdom and we can do this by spending time in prayer, getting honest with God and practicing habits of rest.
I know how hard it is to show up and do things for my family when I’m depleted. It’s so important that as moms we are caring for our body, mind and spirit so that we can honor God and serve his kingdom the way he envisioned. When our cups are filled we are calmer and more patient, and approach serving our families with a grateful heart.
🍃 As you embark on this journey, remember that self-care is an act of stewardship over the life God has entrusted to you. Embrace it as a sacred practice, and watch how it enriches not only your life but the lives of those around you. After all, when we take care of ourselves, we can more fully reflect the love of God to the world.