Why is Self-Care So Difficult?

How are you taking care of you right now?  It's a question that's always asked with good intentions. If you have children, or have a lot going on at work, or are taking care of a sick loved one like I am, you may have gotten the question at some point. Others can see you're stressed and want to make sure you're finding time to do something just for you. They may go as far as giving you the airline analogy: you have to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting someone else. Whenever someone quotes this to me, all I can think is, "I can't even think about oxygen masks. I have to figure out who's supposed to be flying this plane before it crashes!" If you're in a really overwhelming season right now, maybe you can relate: self-care is easier said than done. I took some time to reflect on this over the past week to figure out how I can be better at practicing self-care to make sure that I don't stretch myself so thin that I snap. I also started to ask myself the question, "Is self-care even the right thing to do? Does it make me selfish?" But then I was reminded that God created rhythms of rest all through the Bible. The creator of the universe set rest up at the beginning of time. Jesus got away to rest and to pray and even instructed His disciples to do the same. So if you feel like you're drowning right now, I'm not going to tell you to go get a massage or take a vacation because I know that's not practical. But I do hope you find a moment today to just be still. To realize you can't do it on your own. To rest.