Rest

 

Good morning dear friends!

Welcome to February - the month of ❤️ love.❤️

This month is home to my second favorite holiday: Valentines day.  I love everything about it, the showing of love to others, the silly valentines, the heart stickers, etc.  To me this holiday celebrates love in general, not just romantic love.  

As a young child I was showered with love by my family. For a long time I thought that showing love meant the giving and receiving gifts or doing something for the other person.  The focus was always on the other person.  I struggled with self-love, self-care, and the concept of rest.  

For a really long time I felt that rest was synonymous with lazy or idle.  If I wasn't activitly doing something or was needed by someone, I was being lazy. I struggled with taking a nap, or being alone.

I have loved watching The Chosen series.  It has given me new insights into rest, and how to properly taking care of yourself and others.  Christ often went off by himself to pray and think.  I knew this from reading the scriptures, but somehow seeing what it might have looked like was different.  I finally gave myself permission to stop and rest. 

This has made a world of difference in my life.  Giving myself permission to be still, to rest, to take care of myself is so liberating.  It is one way I can show love for myself.  As I show this love for myself, it enables me to be a better person for my family, my students, and anyone that I come in contact with.

How are you showing love for yourself today?