If your best friend called you today and said "I am mentally exhausted. My job is so overwhelming right now; I'm taking care of my grandmother; my kids and husband need me more than ever and I have nothing left to give"- how would you respond? Would you tell her to suck it up and figure out how to deal with everything? Or would you tell her to take five minutes, an hour, or a day for herself to make sure her own mental and physical health is in top shape?
I have spent years telling everyone around me to take a few minutes for themselves. I have told caretakers that they can not care for their loved ones without caring for themselves first. Even with those words that escaped my mouth, I didn't take them to heart and realize that I need to follow my own advice until the last couple of years.
Life is a journey and it's ours to define, but we also have to remember that if we do not take time out of the chaos to make sure our own mental and physical health is top notch... then we may not be mentally or physically able of caring for all of those people we love.
When you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders and you know that you must move forward with all of your household duties, job assignments, and daughter/mother/aunt responsibilities, it's hard to stop and take time to care for yourself. I'm here to tell you that self care is NECESSARY. I don't care who you are or what job title you hold- if you do not care for yourself, mentally and physically- you will eventually fall apart.
God did not design us to go, go, go, go without resting our minds and bodies. Remember that He rested on the seventh day!!!!
Do you know how many years I spent telling myself "Well, God created the heaven and earth, light, humans, and so much more so He deserved to rest?" That was my mindset for so much of my lifetime. He worked hard and deserved to rest. Guess what, my beautiful friend, YOUR job as a mother, daughter, aunt, friend, wife, nurse, teacher, cleaner, beautician, data entry clerk, or whatever job(s) you have- are necessary and hard. YOU also deserve to rest and care for yourself.
If you continue going 100 mph every single day and you never take time to rest and care for yourself- you will burn out quickly and you will eventually fall apart. That's not a guess- that is my own truthful experience in life.
Today, I want you to plan for five minutes or an hour or if you are incredibly fortunate- an entire day- to rest, care for yourself, and come back even stronger and more determined than before.
Got a planner? Write your self care/rest on the planner so that it is scheduled into your week. Otherwise, it's probably not going to happen.
YOU are amazing. God created you to do AMAZING things. But- He also created you to rest and care for yourself. Do not wait until it's too late and you are mentally/physically falling apart. Schedule some time for yourself immediately. Life is too short to fall apart because you didn't take time to care for your own needs.
Tune in next week for ways you can care for your body and mind. Make sure to join our Facebook group for our weekly affirmation and sign up for our text alerts for reminders about how amazing your are, new product alerts, and last minute deals!