I have to admit, that I have been in a long "phase" of neglecting my body! It has been 8 yrs. since I had my youngest child, and during that pregnancy, was the last time that I took great care of myself.
Now, I certainly don't promote self-neglect; but, I do feel like there are probably a lot of other mothers (and others) out there that fall into the 'routine' of taking care of everyone, to the best of their abilities, but not themselves.
I have continued to find every excuse possible, to put myself last; behind everything involved in the HUSTLE of life and motherhood. Yes, there have been times that I have had 3 very healthy months, working on me, here and there.....but, it has not become a habit or ritual for a very long time...
Well, this neglect of my physical self was really brought to the surface, in April, when I ended up in the ER. The pain was unbearable. I will spare you the details, but I can say, it was very bad!
After much testing, and worry about more major possibilities, I was told that I have a herniated disk in my lower back, and that was causing the pain, and major slow-down to my routine..... That same "routine" that I had fell into, taking care of everyone else, was now interrupted by my inability to move or walk. Now, because of my neglect of myself and my ignoring of the symptoms, for way to long, I was all of a sudden, unable to carry out the daily tasks to take care of my loved ones.
When I was told that the best option for me was physical therapy, and multiple other natural avenues of treatment, I'll admit, I was reluctant to put in the TIME needed to do these things....
Seriously? What was I thinking? If I did not take the TIME to care for myself and get better, I wouldn't be able to do any of my motherly duties either!
So, I prayed through the pain and the many, many doctor appointments, and continued on, what felt like a long, road to being myself once again....
But, somewhere during the process of getting back to 'myself', I realized that I wanted to be BETTER than the way I was before. I wanted to take better care of myself, and optimize my years and the life in my years!
About this same time, I began working very hard to build my public speaking ministry, and it only made sense for me to turn to the Bible and prayer for answers regarding my physical well-being too.
So, I came across this Scripture:
No.....I did not know that I was God's temple...... I had only thought of myself as a mother, wife, employee, etc....
Once I made the choice to see my body as a temple to carry out God's will, I also made the choice to take the very best care of it possible. Because, in reality, I can only carry out the ministry given to me, i.e. motherhood, my day job, my worship band participation, being a wife, being a daughter, speaking about my faith, etc...if my physical "temple" could support me in all of those busy, busy avenues of this life!
Looking back, I cannot believe that it took me SO LONG into life to realize the IMPORTANCE of caring for the 'temple' that God gave to me, to carry out my ministries from; but thankfully, now, I am fully aware and agreeable to the fact that my body is a Holy temple for God to work through; for ministry to others, especially my loved ones; and that it is my DUTY to take care of and preserve that temple!
I have shared my heart in this message, hoping that it can help you too realize the importance of self care! May your eyes be opened to the importance of taking care of the 'temple' which God has given you! Click to Tweet
Many Blessings to you all!
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