The last few months have been very busy and very non-routine in the Williams household. Mike started a new role as registrar for Highlands College. If you don’t know where that is located (I did not until he started there), it is off Highway 280 near Grandview Hospital in Birmingham. We listed our home in Anniston on March 11 and it sold within days. We were officially out of that house on April 2. Did I mention we had to find an apartment so we would have someplace to live? That hunt took place in late February, and we moved in around the same time Mike started at the college. He also finished his dissertation in March, and two Doctor of Ministry students I mentored defended their projects in March while I was trying to pack up our house! Mike was trying to figure out his new job, and I was trying to locate the grocery store closest to our apartment…
I am nowhere near being in a routine, even now, in the middle of May. It is kind of funny that I am writing about self-care as I feel like I am really not doing such a great job at that point right now! I have been slacking on exercise, and our meal plan has had more corn dogs than any couple nearing 50 should be consuming…
But here I am, writing about self-care!
Since I am focusing more on the not-so-good aspects of how I have been approaching that idea lately, let me offer this confession too.
There is one element of self-care that I have never been good at even as a kid.
I hate wearing sunscreen. I don’t like lotion of any type really and slathering that stuff all over my face…can I say yuck?!
And yet, I know that this helps prevent skin cancer and it helps me take care of myself. But even that knowledge does not help me when it comes time to coat that nasty stuff on my face so I won’t get burned!
Do you have any aspect of self-care that is especially hard for you? Is there anything you tell yourself about it that helps you do it anyway?
I bought some sunscreen while we were in Virginia for Mike’s graduation. It was to be a sunny day and we were in the stadium for the ceremony. I ended up not wearing it. There was accessible shade, so I made use of that instead.
Doing the best I can on some days is a victory. It may not be ideal, but I am making the effort. I am aware that excessive sun can cause damage. I know that sunscreen is not my favorite, so I seek out shade, and I make use of a dermatologist-recommended internal sun blocker.
Self-care can seem daunting. There may be aspects of it that are harder for you for whatever reason. But God loved you so much He sent His Son to die for you. Loving yourself through self-care is not selfish but is accepting that He loves you and wants you to take care of you! What do you need to do today to take care of you?
