Self-Love (or Being Kind to Yourself)

Self-love. It sounds so absolutely contrary to everything I have ever thought or felt as a mom. Or as a person, for that matter. It sounds so... selfish. I mean, we're taught to be humble and think of others first, right? Never expect anything in return, but just give 'til it hurts. Give to our families, our friends, our churches, our organizations, our jobs - to everybody.

But lately, as I have begun to slow my pace of life more and more, I am beginning to rethink what that means. Really, self-love is nothing more than being kind to YOU! Doing things that rejuvenate you and make you happy, so you can turn around and give it back to those around you!

Self-love means I can:

1. Send my kids to do something else while I spend 30 min reading my Bible every day - and not feel guilty about it!

2. Send my kids away for 30 minutes while I close my door and exercise every day - and not feel guilty about it!

3. Take a break from everything when I am sick and just be ok with laying on the couch until I feel better.

4. Not push myself beyond what I can physically do just because someone else thinks I should.

5. Not compare myself to others around me. Because God has given each of us different strengths and weaknesses, and when I compare, I'm really just setting myself up for unnecessary disappointment.

6. Spend time doing something I love several times a week, like gardening, painting/crafting, blogging, or reading a book.

7. Check out books on my library card that are meant for ME, instead of just children's books for my kids - and then read them!

8. Spend money on myself for things that I need, like shoes or clothes, instead of always pushing that to the back-burner in order to buy things for my kids. (Hey, kids are expensive!)

9. Take a nap when I need one!

10. Offer myself grace when I screw up. (If we can offer it to people around us, why can't we give that same grace to ourselves?)

Self-love isn't selfish at all. It's an act of kindness to yourself. And believe me, sister (or brother, if you're a guy reading this), if you don't offer yourself some love, you will eventually be so tapped out that you won't have anything left to give. It's not about being wrapped up in your own world and never thinking of others, but a way to refuel and regroup so you can get back out there and pour that love back out to the world around you.

What does self-love look like to you? Think about what makes you happy, and go make some time to do that today!