Summer of Self Care: Why You’re Worth Taking Care of

“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

I’m a recovering plant assassin. It’s true. Growing up in the midwest, greenery and life outdoors was a lifestyle staple. A staple that I took for granted. When we moved to Northern California and pretty much half the year was borderline in drought, I found myself unable to cope with the landscape being various hues of beige. I decided it was time to invest in house plants. Enter Joy: the plant assassin. The first couple plants I purchased were brutally murdered thanks to my over eager water-every-day self…. I was utterly inexperienced. If my plant babies were going to live, they were going to need me to expand my capabilities of what I could do for them. The more I researched each plant and the more I learned, the more my plants thrived. Then, we moved to Texas. They’re not joking when they say everything is bigger in Texas. Watering and basic care needed another upgrade because different kinds of plants were available, requiring different kinds of maintenance, and the sizes were well…..bigger. I couldn’t take my little watering pot around the house and get the job done. I had to start buying fertilizer, different soil and even start composting so the plants could thrive. The more I learned the greater care I could take, and in the end, the plants not only grew, they thrived. 

Why do we think our hearts are any different? 

The above passage from Matthew has been a water/fertilizer/garden staple for the majority of my walk with Jesus. Matthew 22 serves as a guiding light to remember what to prioritize (loving God), how to do it (with everything we’ve got) and it reminds us of our biblical mandate to serve and care for others (by loving our neighbor). The fact that Jesus is the one who is quoted as saying it shows us that we can take a cheat sheet from the Master Gardner himself. But I think a lot of us skip over one crucial part, one thing Jesus says that is included in the master plan, that we’re to quick to forget: loving ourselves. 

If our garden is going to thrive, we can’t simply take care of the plants….caring for the gardener is also part of the equation friends, and that means us too. As I thought through this season, one of the greatest things to surface is the steps that it takes to allow a garden to properly grow. Weeds have to be uprooted, and destroyed. Flowers have to be tended to. Rain must fall, sun must come, soil needs enriching etc. These are not just important elements but essentials for life to bloom, and for a garden to thrive in the appointed season.

So….. we’re going to venture into new lands friends, the world of kingdom minded self-care. I know this can get a little uncomfortable for some people because we often associate self-care with being self-focused, but this is different. We aren’t trying to be boastfully proud, or think of ourselves more highly than we ought. That’s not self care, that’s making an idol of self. The heart of true self-care isn’t idolatrous, it’s stewarding what we have been given with excellence: ourselves. You can’t flourish if you aren’t tending the soil of your heart. 

As we explore this topic for the next month, I want you to prayerfully consider where you’re at with the journey of self care. Do you need to scale it back? Or scale it up? What is the Master Gardener asking you to do to better take care of you, ALL of you- spirit, soul & body? How can stewarding YOU position you better to take care of what God has called you to do in his Kingdom? 

I’m so excited to start this journey together friends! You’re worth taking care of! 

Much Love,

Joy