Invest in Yourself — Part 2

Change in plans today. I’ve been putting together a post on my favorite light fixture finds, and we’ll get to it so nobody panic, but there is something else on my heart right now. An invest in yourself part two if you will.

I have a number of friends, including myself, who are just flat out struggling. Life is hard, parenting is hard, marriage is hard, being a good friend is hard. It’s hard in general, but this year has really thrown us all a curve ball and I feel like some of us are just sitting out of the game and others are reaching as hard as they can to hit it. Are you stretching yourself thin trying to stay in the game, trying to be there for the rest of the team or are you sitting in the dugout, staying away for fear of failure? Now either one of those options are okay, but where is your head, what is the rationale behind your actions?  Because, like it or not, we are all in this game together and your actions do affect others.

My perspective on investing in myself and self-care obviously changed when my kids were born, and it looks different for everyone, but here is where my head’s at right now. I have a medically fragile child who depends on me (or a trained caregiver) for everything. He has a number of respiratory conditions and neurological issues, requires a feeding tube for nutrition and many other devices and/or pieces of equipment just to maintain a good quality of life. But that’s what it is about –quality of life. We have very realistic expectations for Hayes, even though he continues to defy the odds, but our priority is to help give him the best quality of life possible right now. Doing so requires a number of people, nurses, doctors, therapists, family, friends, and me. I cannot be there for anyone if I don’t take care of myself. No matter how hard I try, no matter how hard I stretch myself to try and meet the needs of others, I will break.

We all have 500 things on our plate and are trying to juggle different roles and cover all the positions on the team, but sometimes you have to take a step back. You are not quitting, you’re just laying off this one to prepare for what’s next. Your well-being, your spouse’s well-being, and your kids need to be a priority. Let me remind you, and myself, you are no good to anyone if you’re falling apart inside, or outside for that matter. This has become more apparent to me as I get older. We’ve got to take care of ourselves in order to be in it for the long haul without spiraling out or not being able to walk up the stairs or transfer your child. It becomes a quality of life issue for everyone –not just you — your whole team. God is in control. He is sovereign and He is the only one who can bring true fulfillment and peace in our lives, so invest in Him first — His Word before the worlds. Bible App – Well-Watered Woman  I also believe He expects us to take the appropriate steps to take care of what He has given us — body, mind, money, family, etc.

God has given us a conscience, a sound mind, self-control, but we are not made to go through it all alone. We are the only ones who can make a decision to take care of ourselves. Whether it means taking a step back or one forward, it’s up to us to make the call. If you are struggling mentally, physically, emotionally, whatever it may be, I pray you would search your heart and mind to make a move. Seek those around you for advice and support for you — an investment in yourself, your well-being, your quality of life.  I have a feeling during the process you will find your faith is bigger than your fear.

For more on my story and self-care ideas to get you started, check out How to Invest in Yourself.

1 Corinthians 2

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony^[b] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴ and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[c] but in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[d]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ¹⁶ “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”