Love Yourself By Taking Care Of Yourself

When was the last time you did something out of love for yourself?

When was the last time you did something just for you?

Yesterday’s post on my other blog got me thinking.

Has it been awhile? Is time flying by at warp speed, and you’re doing all you can to just keep up in life? Has life gotten too busy to take care of you??

We have a lot going on, don’t we? We’re diligent in taking care of others. Active in church, in groups, and in the community. Hardworking and dependable at work, as we bring home the bacon. Keeping things running smoothly at home. Making time for our spouse and children. Crossing things off our lists, and managing our time.

These are all good things, but sometimes we get so focused on all we have to do, we forget to take care of the one who’s doing them.

And one day, it catches up with us.

Weariness. Unhappiness. Discouragement. Discontentment. Weight gain (or loss) and living not-so-healthy. It’s as if we’ve transformed into someone else, without ever realizing it. Everyone else sees it, but not us. We’re sick and tired of being sick and tired. The joy we once had has been replaced wish frustration. The things we used to appreciate now annoy us.

“Life is one big hassle.”

Whoa… that’s when we need to hit the brakes!

I’ve been there. Have you? Let me tell you, that’s a scary place to be.

So, what can we do to never get to that point?

Take care of ourselves.

That’s a part of loving others as we love ourselves.

I often use the analogy of a pitcher of water. Imagine yourself as a full pitcher.

All day long you pour a little of yourself out to those in your life… your family, your friends, your work, your calling, your ministry. You give of your time, your talent, yourself. You are busy blessing others.

But, day after day of pouring out, you soon find yourself half-full. Then a quarter-full. And if you don’t do something soon to fill yourself back up, you will find yourself empty.

Empty is not a good thing. At that point, we have nothing left to pour out. We’re not much good for anyone, let alone ourselves. We have run dry.

Maybe you’re in that place of dryness today. Your pitcher is empty, and you know it. Or quite possibly, you’re feeling you’re a quarter-full, and a dry pitcher is not far off.

Friend, I cannot stress this enough. Do something TODAY to fill you back up. Do something just for you, out of love for yourself. Don’t wait until tomorrow, find something today.

This afternoon I plan to go “farming” with my brother. I’m going to ride with him as he harvests his fields of either corn or soybeans. There’s something about farming and being with him that fills my soul. I’ll be a different person when I return home. A refreshed, rejuvenated, back-to-normal person.

I’ll return as a “full pitcher,” ready to pour out again.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about practical ways of filling yourself back up. Please share your ideas below, and I’ll include them (with a link to your blog if you have one) in that list!