What Does Self Care Look Like in Your Christian Health Journey?

Author: Shaela Daugherty, Founder & CEO

You can't see anything in the health and fitness field without seeing "self-care" or "self-compassion." It’s huge. Let's start by challenging your belief about self care. What does the dictionary say about self care? 

"the practice of taking an active roll in protecting one's own well-being and happiness, in particular during periods of stress. "expressing oneself is an essential form of self-care." 

As a Christ-Follower for many years now, avid Bible reader, and masters from Seminary, I have yet to find anything in the Bible about self-care in terms of "protecting one's own well-being and happiness." As Christians, our form of self-care will look a bit different than the worlds and this definition. The world says we deserve things for ourselves and for our own happiness, God says we don’t deserve anything and YET He sent His son for salvation for us (John 3:16). I propose a new word here, instead of saying "self-care," what if we look at it through the lens of soul care?

To quote an author Abbie Halberstadt, she said this in her book M is for Mama:

"… Jesus knew the value of time spent alone with his Father. But he also knew the value of his earthly ministry, and he poured out his patience and giftings on those who needed him. Even when he desire—nay, craved—solitude, he did not treat it as something to which he was entitled (there’s that word again). Because there’s a difference between wanting (or even needing) and deserving.”

Her point is that the luxuries the world sees as self-care are not owed to us. To be blunt, we are owed nothing, "for the wages of sin is death," scripture says in Romans. But it is okay to want or even need times of refreshing.

We are limited human beings, and we do need sleep, we do need space, we do need to get alone with the Father and refresh our souls, not just our physical beings.

So here are some questions to filter through your mind to see whether you have a healthy relationship with your soul care:

1. Do you feel entitled to time alone? Do you feel it’s owed to you or deserved after a hard days work?
2. Does your self-care produce gratitude and humbleness in the blessing of God? Or does it leave you feeling like you deserve more and that it wasn’t enough?

 If you get upset or frustrated when your alone time or time away is over, there could be feelings of entitlement there. Walking away from your time alone and with the Father can be the most refreshing and humbling time and can produce gratitude for what we have and patience. That's what we want from our time away and alone with the Father, we want perspective, not on our own happiness, but on what He wants for us. 

Once you think about those here are a few tips to help reframe your mindset and provide you some physical and spiritual care: 

1. Make sure you take care of your basic needs daily: i.e. shower, eat, sleep, drink water. You cannot function without those for long periods of time. It is to the detriment of yourself and the detriment of those around you
2. Prioritize time with the Father first – you can’t always know what you need, unless you know the one who gave you those needs and desires.
3. Ask yourself what energizes you and helps you feel refreshed to continue on in the path Christ has laid for you?
4. Check your heart – make sure your desire for self and soul care is coming from a place of understanding it’s a privilege to do so, not because it’s deserved or earned
5. Appreciate the moments you are able to set aside time to care for your body and mind – have an attitude of gratitude about those moments
6. Don’t make your self/soul care times an idol

Work through these questions today as you think about ways to take care of yourself mentally/emotionally, physically, spiritually and socially.

Scripture for reference:

Proverbs 3:5-6, Phil 4:19, 1 Peter 5:7, Hebrews 4:16, Psalm 55:22

_{DISCLAIMER: self-neglect is the opposite of self-care. Self-neglect is not what scripture intends for us. You still need to take care of your physical needs. You need to eat, you need to sleep, you need to shower, and so on. I want to make that very clear.}