Women are wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts and friends. We were made with a nurturing caring spirit. Because of our caring nature, many women take care of everyone else before they care for themselves.
Most women feel guilty if they take “me” time. I know I do. I have to talk myself into it. But if we don’t take care of ourselves we will end up burnt out and unable care for those we love the most the way we’d  really like to.
Taking care of yourself is not selfish. It is necessary.
It’s up to you to define what caring for yourself consist of. For me, it is spending time with the Lord undisturbed at the beginning of each day. When I don’t I can’t hear Him clearly and I lose all sense of direction and clarity about what’s most important and what I should be giving attention to in my current season of life and my present day.
The Good Portion
In the Story of Martha and Mary the twos sisters that were friends with Jesus,
He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.â€Â And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.†Luke 10:38-42
Spending time with Jesus intimately is different from reciting your prayer requests and reading your daily Scripture. It is being with Him as you would a dear friend, hearing His heart and being willing to give Him yours.
You see, of all the things that compete for your attention, this one thing, spending time with Jesus, at His feet hearing His Word is necessary. This is the primary way we care for ourselves. He who made us knows us and will guide us into His plan and the many blessings He has for us as we spend time in His presence.
This one thing cannot be substituted by other things.
Believe me, in my busyness I’ve tried.  Nothing — going to church, fellowship with other believers, doing outreach, group prayer, nothing will make up for what we lose when we don’t spend one-on-one intimate time with Jesus, and your husband, your family, your ministry, your work or career, nor your ambitions should come before Him.
The second part of caring for myself is wellness.
This can include so many things but for me, it is being emotionally healthy as well as physically and mentally healthy.
In order to stay well, I need to exercise and eat a good healthy diet. This means making time for walking or some other form of exercise at least four times a week, making time to cook or being willing to pay for a good meal, not junk-food, laying off of candy and getting enough rest at night.
Caring for myself also includes taking the time to do things that I enjoy.
Reading, going to sit near the ocean, cooking tasty healthy meals and trying new healthy international cuisine, working in my garden and being able to use my creativity do it for me.
Taking time to enjoy yourself doesn’t mean that you have to relax on your responsibility.
You just have to plan so you can make time for the things that matter most to you. This may mean reevaluating what you’re currently doing with your time and getting rid of unnecessary things to make time for what really matters to you.  If you need to make a plan but don’t know where to start you can use my free 28 Day Life Redesign Workbook to get started.
Beloved, when we are good with God and good with ourselves we ca give out so much more to those we love and are called to care for.
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