God Cares about Self-Care

Self-care. Noun. A balancing act in which one strives for total wellness in their mind, body, and soul.

Recently, I started going to therapy, and until today, I haven’t shared that with anyone except my mom, husband, and a few select friends. But, for the purposes of this article, I think it’s essential you know.

I started going for several reasons, really, but what it ultimately boiled down to is I was in a dark, depressive, anxiety-ridden place, and I knew I couldn’t pull myself out alone. So, in my brokenness and confusion and frustration and anger, I cried out to God, and I mean really cried out.

I remember lying in the middle of my living room floor with tears streaming down my face as I hugged my arms around my chest. Crying for every reason. Crying for no reason. It was in that moment I finally leveled with God and really prayed. I took off my shell of “perfection” and stopped the façade as I realized I couldn’t fix this on my own. It was in that moment I finally cast my burdens upon Him and asked for my anxieties to be laid to rest. It was in that moment I asked Him to sew my broken heart back together and heal my pain. It was in that moment I totally and completely surrendered myself and admitted I needed His help. Because otherwise, I knew the enemy was going to win and swallow me whole for good.

So, in that broken and painful moment, God heard my cries and responded with one inherent command: Schedule an appointment with a counselor, a woman who is a fellow believer, and do this now. And so, I did.

Two days later, I arrived at the little brick building where my appointment would be, and while I thought I would be nervous and want to cancel, my mind was surprisingly at peace. Looking back, I realize now what a huge turning point this was for me.

Since starting therapy, I’ve begun writing again and being more productive with my time and efforts, which has been instrumental in my self-love recovery journey. In fact, this energy boost gave me so much confidence I decided to fine-tune a snippet of my journaling process and share it on my blog. I was honestly terrified to show people my true weaknesses and vulnerabilities, but trust me when I say the response was phenomenal. The views on this piece instantly spiked and quickly surpassed everything else I’d ever written, and SO many people reached out with positive, encouraging thoughts. Shoot, even my social media following started growing faster than it ever had, and other brands and platforms were actually reaching out to me for collaborations (instead of the other way around).

It was insane, y’all! Everything I’d been dreaming of was finally starting to come to fruition, and it’s all because I cried out to Jesus and obeyed His command. I’ve been cranking out blogs and chapters and journals and guest posts and thoughts and ideas just as quickly as I can, and it’s exhilarating, to say the least. Now that I’ve finally got my groove back, it’s like I can’t stop! I mean, honestly, not to steal your thunder, Katniss, but I feel like the girl on fire.

However, with all this content creation and constant desire to produce, I’m starting to realize the value of rest. Just as your body exerts energy and needs recovery days, so does your mind. This was a difficult concept for me to grasp, though, because if I’m being honest myself, I was terrified that once I stopped, I wouldn’t start again. I would sink back into my hole, and the entire process would start again. I was so scared of this, in fact, I ignored what my mind and body were telling me, and last week, I caught a cold—and I mean a gnarly one.

And then it hit me—because I wouldn’t make myself stop and rest, God intervened and made me stop and rest. I realize at this point, you may be thinking, “this girl is crazy. God doesn’t make you sick. She did that all on her own.” But, if I may, I firmly believe Christ makes us rest if we don’t make ourselves. He physically makes it so that we have to abide by our bodies’ limitations and allow ourselves time to rejuvenate.

Once I realized this, I knew I needed a short break. For me, this meant putting away my electronics for a few nights, cuddling up with my puppies, and watching Netflix with my hubby. Now, I will say, not “working” during my free time definitely gave me anxiety, but, because I went to therapy, I had the necessary tools I needed to overcome these feelings.

After resting for a few days, I woke up feeling much better, and my burning desire to create was still on fire, allowing me to slide back into my routine with ease. I lit my favorite fall-scented candle, grabbed a warm, fleece blanket, and snuggled up with my old laptop to write, and it felt joyous.

I’m not saying I’ve got this whole balance thing figured out just yet; I know it’s still a work in progress. But, my hope and prayer for you is that by reading this, just maybe you’ll have the courage to surrender yourself and your struggles to Jesus and listen to what He tells you.

Because God cares about self-care. And you should, too.

Therapy. Noun. A concept in which ones seeks mental, psychical, and spiritual guidance to achieve wellness when they can no longer care for themselves.

Amy Tackett from Honeyteller is a wife, dog-mom, spreader of the Gospel, and blogger.