Self Care

But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Luke 5:16

 What happens when your forget to recharge your cellphone?  What happens when you let the car run out of gas and don't fill it up?  What happens when you go and go and go and go, from project to project, activity to activity, eating "bad for you" stuff?  Answer....you know.

Yet we do these kind of things more than we want to admit.  We will, quite literally, keep going until we drop and then wonder why we are so exhausted all the time.  We drink more and stronger coffee.  We'll pound down gallons of energy drinks.  Why? Because, well let's face it, we're not the brightest critters.

I am fully convinced that Abba put animals on this earth, (BEFORE He brought us into the picture) to teach us!  For example, when our pup, Woody Bear, gets tired he will simply lay down and take a nap.  Guess what? No alarm is set. When he's rested, he wakes up.  Well....unless there's a snack to be had.

So why do we drive ourselves so hard?  Do we REALLY think we can fulfill Abba's plan for us in record time, thus changing His plan for us?  Let me come clean here: I like helping people usually through listening and offering counsel.  However, I am also very bad about not taking time to rest, relax and recharge. This usually leads to feeling burned out, resentful, irritable (ask my bride), sleepless nights...but I'm trying to help people which is good, right?  At what cost?

Look at the life of Jesus.  He would go away frequently to pray, relax and recharge.  He would spend time appreciating the creation. He encouraged His Disciples to do the same.  So, if Jesus needed to take time away for self-care, who are we to believe we don't need to?