The first and second commandments are about loving. We are to love God, and our neigneighbors, however we often miss a few key words in this command, "As yourself". The Lord commands us to love ourselves. Parents tend to overlook this key factor especially Mom's have this tendancy.
What does it mean to love yourself?
Loving you begins with understanding who you are as a person. What is your personality type? What things are most important to you and why? How do you learn? What are the values you hold as important? Understanding these things about yourself helps to settle our minds. Creating a sense of self which guides our lives and our parenting.
Loving yourself is also, recognizing when you need a time to just be to resettle yourself. This is a skill we often neglect to teach our children. We call this"me time" it comes in many forms. Mothers can think I do not have time, but like most things in life we have to make the time. I suggest a family relaxation time. Pick a time where everyone in the house must pick a quiet, comfortable place to settle. During this time maybe a half hour everyone needs to engage in quiet activities. I further suggest no video games, internet activities, or other electronic interactions as these activities ramp up the brain and tend to leave people more instead of less relaxed.
Eating right, drinking the proper amount of water, getting enough rest are also important parts of giving yourself love. We can get into routines which place us off balance and in a place where we sacrifice ourselves in order to take care of our families. This is a mistake. Balance is the key to keeping our busy hectic lives from becoming mentally, emotionally, and personally overwhelming. Making sure we put into place strategies which allow us to make sure we are meeting our own physical needs is an important part of giving ourselves love.
Time to worship is the very foundation of self love. The most important aspect of our lives is maintaining the first commandment. Loving God means spending time with Him. Prayer, worship, meditation on Biblical concepts, and just sitting and allowing the Holy Spirit to teach, counsel, and guide you are all parts of loving God. I love the story of how Smith Wiggleworth's mom would lift her outer skirt over her head and her children would know to get quiet and not disturb her cause "she was praying". When we exercise these disciplines in front of our children and we model loving both God and ourselves for them we give them the tools they need to love themselves.
In the end we must love ourselves before we can effectively love others. Mom's do a better job loving and serving family if she first makes sure her needs are met. This Mother's Day let your family love and pamper you. Enjoy the day, but remember taking care of yourself is as much about loving your family and giving them your best as it is about loving yourself.
Happy Mother's Day
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