Fall décor is everywhere. Pumpkin Spice has taken center stage for flavor in everything from milkshakes to coffee. Boots and sweaters are the fashion items of choice (unless you are in Georgia, like me, where I am still sporting my sandals and short sleeves!).
Whenever I think of fall, I often think back to snuggly times under a warm blanket, reading a good book, and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate. I love getting my house decorated and how the evening starts to get a little darker and time seems to slow down just a bit.
When we think of self-care, we often think of time spent alone or doing something that we enjoy. Maybe a pedicure or massage, or a dinner out with friends.
But what if we have missed the point? Maybe self-care is not the act of doing something but the act of NOT doing something? What if we look at self-care as taking things off our schedule instead of adding one more thing to do?
For instance, I really need a pedicure. It will most likely be my last one before the weather breaks and these tootsies are covered up until spring time. But what if, instead of putting that pedicure down as self-care, I put it down as a necessary maintenance item? Put it on my list of To-Do’s? It might get done!
And what if, for self-care, I just try to make sure that there is time carved out where nothing is scheduled. Seriously, let us schedule nothing for a period of time. Maybe that looks like Tuesday evening from 9-9:30pm, or Saturday from 10-10:30am. What if I hold that time marked for nothing as sacred time?
The hard part for me, would be to allow myself to do nothing. My periods of doing “nothing” tend to always lead to me doing “something”. Laundry, dishes, working out, placing the InstaCart order for the week, playing a game on my phone, reading a book.
Those things can all be good things and have their place, but what if we just turned it all off? What if we allowed ourselves to sit with our thoughts? What if instead of picking up our phone, we picked up a pen and paper and began to write out our thoughts in the quiet? What if we invited God to be an intimate part of that space with us and to speak to us? If we are honest, how often are we really being quiet enough to hear Him?
So, this year, I am going to fall into a different type of self-care. I am purposely putting space in my day for quiet and reflection. I am carving out a time in my schedule for just being. Placing a few minutes in my life to just breathe in cadence with the Holy Spirit of the Living God, listening to that still small voice.
Will you join me in falling into a different type of self-care this season?
When I left for work at 2:30 AM earlier this week I noticed how brilliant the stars were. The night sky in the fall is exceptionally clear. With the mild weather, this is the perfect time of year to gaze upon our God’s wondrous works.
I paused for a minute to admire how awesome our God is. He created a universe so large that man cannot grasp its immense size. He made it with particles so small that we can only theorize what they are. Infinite wisdom exceeds the submicroscopic and the vastness of space. Greater than that, He loves me infinitely.
Thank you God, for the night sky, and making me pause for just a minute to realize t…