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Our mental health is so important; however, our self-care is the last thing we work on as a part of our overall wellness. We must look at ourselves holistically or look at the “Total Package” of who God made us to be.
I see people every day that eat well, exercise, and take care of their physical body; but, mentally they are depressed, anxious and beat down by life in general. Why? Because we feel like our hurt and brokenness should be carried around with us. It’s like layering your clothes one on top of the other and never removing anything. The layer next to your skin starts to stink and decay, permeating the other layers with a nasty smell, while we add perfume and cologne to the outer layer hoping no one will notice. The weight of it all is exhausting.
For years I lived a life of anxiety and fear. Those things even worked their way into the parts of my life that I enjoyed. Anxiety riddled even vacation time for me, but I tried to put on a face of joy for my family. I would return to work so tired and feeling sick that my next vacation was another year away. My drive to work was with hands gripped to the steering wheel and my temples aching from clenched teeth hoping everyone would just stay in their lane. I had no understanding of what was missing from my life because it was filled with other stuff.
I started really working on my mental health and focusing on my self-care about 10 years ago, when I started working on me. With the help of a couple of small groups I started attending, it became apparent that I was important to God, and my well-being was important for my walk with Him. God made me/us in his image, and we were made to prosper. But I want to explain, prosper in this context is not about money, it’s about life. We were made to live healthy, happy lives and we can prosper even through adversity, if we rely on the one who provides our strength. In my strength, I am weak, I proved that to myself over and over. In His strength, I am whole and happy.
For anyone suffering with anxiety and fear of what life holds, I say that life holds a place for you. Outside of what the news says, outside of what your surroundings say, and outside of what others say about you. There is a place inside the kingdom of God that is safe, secure and focused on your self-care. I wish I could explain exactly how it works, but there is a lot I still have no explanation for. God did tell us in Isaiah 55:8 that His thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are far beyond anything we can imagine. (NLT) I have found these words to be very true in my personal life and in my personal walk to better mental health.
I reached out to God last for help. He was the one person I should have asked first. Even though I waited a long time to make the decision He was quick to help. God has continued to help me, guide me, and strengthen me over the last 10 years. Not to mention the things He did for me the first 50 years of my life. But, continued to walk the journey alone.
God has given me a joyful healing from the bumps and bruises of life. Yes, I have a few scars upon my heart. But, the hard callus that once covered those scars has been soften by the healing hands of God. What a glorious relief.
Make your mental health, your self-care, a priority. Find ways to put peace back into your life; call upon God to help you. Your maker understands your needs. We offer programs at Hope Is The Anchor that can help you get your mental health back on track. See our programs at http://www.hopeistheanchor.com Oh, and before you say it’s selfish to put your needs above the needs of others, I give you this thought to ponder….” when we let our personal needs go, that loss reflects in all of our relationships”.