The Spring Season is well underway. More sunshine, more showers, and even yes, those pesky allergies are all in full force.
What also should be in full force is the radical self-care that we all too often put on the back burner endeavoring to be everything to everybody and everywhere at all times.
Now as mamas, or just women in general, we feel this call to nurture and to take care of others, and while we are commanded as believers to love our neighbors, let us not forget that that command is tied to loving ourselves.
Throughout the month I will urge you to consider that practicing self-care in areas of spiritual, physical, intellectual, consumer and emotional health is not only not selfish, but it in fact is necessary and can even serve to benefit those around us.
I know you’ve heard it said before, but as a wife and relatively new mother the saying you can’t pour from an empty cup has never been truer than it is to me today… I love my Husband and my Sonshine… but if I have not made sure that my heart, soul, mind and body are well taken care of I cannot show up for them in the way they need me to.
So, let’s talk spiritual self-care. My sisters we must be connected to the source… God… our creator… the author and finisher of our faith must be first and foremost in our lives. Now I’m speaking from my lens as a Christian woman recognizing that there may be other faith traditions that are reading this right now. I honor the Divine in you as well.
Whatever spiritual path you are on, this physical world with all its trials and tribulations is hard enough, we must set our minds and hearts on things above…Philippians 4 encourages the following:
…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.
When I think about those adjectives I think about my Savior and the fact that He died so that we might have life and life more abundantly. As we prepare to close out the Lenten Season this is all the more poignant and real at such a time as this.
When we remain spiritually connected to the source of our joy… that’s when we can truly be the effective witness, nurturer, encourager we are called to be.
We can’t be a witness to the next person that is down and out if our spiritual wellness is all jacked up.
So, what could that spiritual self-care look like…? I’m so glad you asked, keep reading.
For me it’s consistent prayer, meditation, journaling, getting out in nature, reading my Bible or other sacred texts and surrounding myself with like-minded people who are also going to pour into me.
That last one is so crucial my sisters, recognizing that everyone is not meant to go on the journey with us is also important to our spiritual self-care. The energies in our circle are powerful and make a huge difference in our overall well-being. Sometimes we have to thank those for who they were in our lives in that moment and move on in love and faith.
It may be our very own family members that we have to love at arm’s length because of the energy and spirit they bring to the relationship.
It’s okay to have those critical conversations with those individuals and with ourselves to assess what we need in order to move forward in a place of peace.
When we have our own aspects of spiritual self-care in alignment then we can endeavor to do the same for the hurt, lost and confused souls in our communities.
Selfcare is not selfish … it’s necessary … and it will sustain the work you do as proud, powerful and enlightened first ladies on a mission to heal ourselves and others.