How you treat yourself and what you think about yourself communicates to others! You must show up for you!
"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." (Ecclesiastes 11:4 TLB)
As women, we tend to nurture others easier than ourselves and sometimes at our expense.
For me, learning that self-care is not selfish was key to spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health and was necessary for productive relationships. Even the airlines tell us to put on our own masks before helping others with theirs.
Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.” (Mark 12:30-31 MSG)
Jesus told us to love others as we love ourselves. That means, to me, I must invest in me by taking care of me, loving me, and doing healthy things for me. I also had to learn that saying no was healthy and that no is a complete sentence. No explanations are needed. So, don't explain your no. Most importantly, again to me, saying no doesn't mean I don't care. It may mean I need to be all right with caring about me as much as I care about others. I can't serve empty.
When we serve empty or to exhaustion, we're not giving the best part of ourselves. We're serving from a place of pride. A place that says only I can do this, or I must do this. We aren't ever called to be all things to all people. We can't take the place of God's position in people's lives. Sometimes, when our motives are wrong, our service can become a hindrance in the lives of others. We can't circumvent the lessons God is trying to teach others by stepping in where we clearly need to step out.
Holy Spirit will give you His grace, His power to do the hard things. It might mean saying no to some things so you can say yes to the needful thing.
I hear the Lord saying, “I will stay close to you, instructing and guiding you along the pathway for your life. I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide. So don’t make it difficult; don’t be stubborn when I take you where you’ve not been before. Don’t make me tug you and pull you along. Just come with me!” (Psalms 32:8-9 TPT)
Be Encouraged! ❤
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