I live a pretty demanding life. It’s liberating to confess I don’t practice self-care well. That is, well enough not to feel like I’m moving about life with warnings from within that I’m a few miles to empty. I’ve failed at making myself a priority. Until I finally heard God. He said, be still and know.

Our callings to serve others, to work wholeheartedly in all we do as to the Lord and not man, are guiding principles of the heart. They are the beacons of light that direct us home when we question, become weary and wander. 

God’s might delivers us from our troubles. God’s love leads us beside still waters and refreshes our soul. God’s concern for us directs us to the beginning of time, amid the busyness of creation, God’s wisdom made room for rest (from His work) on the seventh day. Be still and know He is God.

We dream and pursue; we explore the unknown with great anticipation. Our creative minds and motives drive us to experiences that prove to be exhilarating, exhaustive, and hurtful. With all God allows for His creations, He whispers, be still and know I am God.

I started this writing expressing the freedom of confessing what was. I conclude with a confession of what is. I now carve out self-care moments in my life. 

• I intentionally schedule my lunch break on my work calendar and lessen the number of times I eat lunch at my desk; 
• I no longer stay hours in the office after business hours; 
• I spend more time dreaming and strategizing our family’s legacy with my husband; 
• I began meditating using visualization techniques and breathing exercises;
• I have scheduled sessions with my awesome therapist (I love her!);
• I started learning yoga at home; 
• I avoid negative energy; 
• I don’t engage with persons or things that trigger unhealed hurt; 
• I cut off all appearances of evil; and 
• I’m still when God tells me to be still.

Stillness has allowed me to see the work of God in my past, present, and future. Stillness has allowed me to experience the joy of living free, knowing who God is. God continues to save me from my foolish self. The Maker of heaven and earth, the Mastermind of creation, has proven He’s a promise keeper in the midnight hour and in the uncertainties of my “meanwhile”. 

Finally, I’m committed to trusting God when He reminds me to pay attention to “me”, to make myself a priority, knowing the world won’t crumble because of it. I can’t give 200% of me to others and devote nothing good to myself. I’m free of that!

I recently took a work trip out of the country. After completing full days of recruiting and networking, I gave myself permission to concentrate on me. I took walks on the beach, played in the rain, laughed with strangers, wrote passages in my journal, and stood under the promise of a complete rainbow. And I felt God smile.

Be still and know.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” – Psalm 46:10