There is a story of two loggers who had a competition to see who could cut the most wood in a day. One logger (John) worked feverishly throughout the day, while the other logger (Bill) was found to stop his work about once per hour. John thought this was because Bill was getting tired, so John would work even harder thinking he was winning the competition. At the end of the day, it was found that Bill had cut more wood. John was flabbergasted and asked, “How could you have chopped more wood? I heard you stop working at some point in every hour?” Bill responded, “When I stopped working, I was sharpening my axe.”
I sadly have a tendency too often to be more like John and less like Bill. In a recent evaluation session with the Board of Directors, they asked me to consider how I was taking care of myself and my family. They asked, “Are you practicing self-care where you leave work behind to enjoy renewal, rest, and family?” The answer was sadly, “Probably not.”
Self-Care is a concept and practice where we are invited to come out from the busyness of life, the rigors of our work, and the responsibilities of leadership to experience renewal, rest, and fellowship. When self-care is not present in a person’s life, stress, anxiety, and fear will often take up residence, creating a myriad of problems affecting our physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual being.
In the Old Testament we see times where people are called to leave the normal routine of life to meet with God. In 1 Kings 19:1-18 we read of Elijah in desperation and in defeat being called to Mt. Horeb to meet with the Lord. In the New Testament, there are times Jesus models how to take time away and he also invites his disciples to follow this routine as well. In Mark 6:30-32 we read, “The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had not leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.”
Self-care when practiced as a discipline of life is part of the rhythm of taking care of the whole person. The act of self-care is not only about the renewal of the person, but of the person’s relationships, as well. When I come to self-care, it is not about me leaving my family to go away (though there are times for that behavior); it is a balance of serving in the community or in places around the world, while also serving as husband, father, and son to my family. It is a balance and rhythm to my life.
Some of the action steps for self-care for me in 2024 is:
How is God calling you to a life of self-care in 2024? Do you become overwhelmed with helping everyone else and forget about your own self-care? It is my prayer that you will hear Jesus’ invitation to “come away to a deserted place all by yourself and rest a while.”
Prayer: Father, I pray you would remind me of your invitation to come away from the busyness of my schedule to spend time in rest, relaxation, and renewal. I don’t want to live my life from a place of tiredness and leftovers, but I want to live out of the fullness of life experienced when I surrender my all to you. Thank you for your invitation. In Jesus’ name. Amen.