We often get carried away by living in the future that we forget to live in and enjoy the present moment.
No matter how hard we work, we should always make it a priority to take care of ourselves because at the end of the day no amount of money can replace us. Sometimes we may drown ourselves in the ocean of struggling to amass wealth that we forget there is more to life than material things.
As humans, it is ironic that we tend to neglect our health and spend all our energy looking for money, and then after we get the money, we spend every coin seeking for restoration of our health. Saint Anne is appealing to us that we need to take care of ourselves and we can do so by starting a self-care program.
The purpose of a self-care program is to ensure that we do not neglect our needs and it helps us maintain our sanity in an insane world. We are reminded that as much as we care about others, we ought to take care of ourselves for we cannot be able to love others if we do not love ourselves.
Take Time to Rest
In Matthew 11:28-30, Christ is calling upon all who are weary and burdened and he promises to give them rest. He calls us to take his yoke upon ourselves and learn from him for he is gentle and humble of heart and we will find rest since his yoke is easy and his burden light.
Most times we often spend our time working and seeking to lead a better life that involves financial stability. We work hard to live in good houses, drive luxurious cars, afford traveling for holidays, and dress in designer clothes among many other goals that we use to define a successful life. While it is nothing wrong with that, we tend to overwork ourselves and it negatively affects our productivity.
Saint Anne is revealing to us that we need to take time to rest well. As part of our self-care program, we ought to incorporate a healthy sleep-routine which involves at least 8 hours per day. While we may feel as if we are hacking life by working extra hours and depriving ourselves of sleep, the reality is that it has a negative effect on our productivity and health as well.
A sleep routine is not an indicator of laziness or wasting time but a form of self-care. In the bible, God also rested on the seventh day after creating the universe and everything in it for six days. If God rested, who are we not to rest? Furthermore, resting is a command to us from God hence we ought to obey it.
Taking Care of Ourselves
In a world that is characterized by individualism and plenty of selfish people, we need to take good care of ourselves. We need to realize that nobody is responsible for us hence step up and take control of our lives. Understanding that you need to care for yourself goes a long way in ensuring that you are mentally stable and that you do not get disappointed when other people seek to hurt you.
Saint Anne is providing us with the following tips to note before starting a self-care program;
- Lower your expectations – Self-care demands that we expect nothing from other people to avoid disappointments. We often tend to expect too much from other people especially if they are close to us. The downside of this is that if they fail to meet our expectations, we become bitter and angry at them.
- Be grateful – Once we have lowered our expectations, we begin to see the goodness behind every kind gesture made towards us. We absorb the positive energy of the universe and the result is that we become happier and radiate with gratitude. In return, we receive more blessings and positivity.
- Taking responsibility – Embarking on a self-care program routine demands that we stand up and be responsible. It demands that we understand that nobody is coming to save us hence we are our greatest cheerleaders for nobody is watching us. It involves taking up responsibility for our well-being into our hands.
Emotional Care
As emotional beings, we may often get our emotions mixed up which may make us devastated. Since we cannot exist in a vacuum, we have to interact with others, and it’s unfortunate that although we may have good intentions towards them, this may not be mutual. We tend to trust people and they end up betraying us which affects us and damages us emotionally.
Saint Anne is revealing to us that emotional care is essential in self-care. This does not imply that we stop interacting with other people out of fear that they will betray us. It means getting in touch with our inner selves and seeking help when we need it.
Instead of bottling up our pain when we are hurt, emotional care requires us to embrace vulnerability and seek help when we need it. Vulnerability does not mean that we are weak but it is a sign of our strength and it indicates that we are practicing self-care.
Prayer to Saint Anne
“Dear Saint Anne, I thank you for revealing to me the urgency of starting a self-care program.
While I have focused on the future, I thank you for helping me realize that the present matters the most, and I should be grateful for it.
Help me to take care of myself and lead a life that pleases God.”
🙏 Amen 🙏
