Take Care of Yourself

When’s the last time you gave yourself permission to heal? I’m not talking about putting on a band aid after falling off a bike or applying alcohol to an intense bug bite. I’m talking about interrupting your 9-5 for the sake of self-care ? You were probably worried your boss would get upset or your workload will spill into someone else’s lap. So what! If your work can go on without you, then why are you there anyway (that’s a different conversation)? 

Are you valuing your existence ? If so, healing should be your first priority. How do you expect to help...and not heal? If you’re still thinking of the last time you made room for yourself , maybe doing so now is the best thing that may ever happen to you (at least in this season). 

I injured my hip recently and my wife used a phrase to describe my pain. She said I was pulling myself up by my face. Imagine trying not to wince as sharpness shoots through your body while moving across the bed. It’s difficult not to do so. 

Your soul makes the same face when you’re injured from the inside. Those spiritual muscles are straining primarily because you haven’t been exercising them correctly. Difficult to do when your attention is on other things that add nothing to your life. If anything , it takes away with no return investment. Life is the only successful thief that steals whether you're looking or not. 

Sinking through the bed isn't a bad thing when you're healing . Some call it laziness in the absence of physical productivity . I call it productivity...in the absence of stress. Stress...is the timeless hand squeezing the the throat of our joy. Breathing in your happiness isn't against the rules, even when someone wishes they had what you have. 

Don't make it your endeavor to loathe other people. Let others have their blessings. Maybe they, too ,took care of themselves when no else would...just so they can enjoy what you envy. Not on purpose , of course, but because that is its purpose. Blessings are meant to be enjoyed, appreciated. You are missing out on what you want because you won't give your body what it needs. It has a life , too, you know. It has yours. Look out for each other as God tends to you both.