I knew I was getting better emotionally, spiritually, and physically when I began to think bigger than myself and my immediate struggles.
“I don’t have time.” How many times do you think that or say that every day? Every week?
You are getting dressed in the morning, and the jar holding the cotton balls you use for your makeup is empty. You quickly grab one from the bag in the cabinet to use for now. You don’t have time to restock the cotton balls in the jar. It’ll have to wait.
You have a broken fingernail, but you are running behind schedule and needed to be out the door fifteen minutes ago. No time to file the jagged edge on your fingernail. It will have to wait.
You’re getting a cold and you know you should take Vitamin C, but who has time for extra things like that?
You know you need to see a counselor to process some things emotionally, but getting to the appointments will mean moving some things on your schedule. It’s difficult to make the time.
You want to start your day reading your Bible and reflecting on God’s Word, but the dirty dishes in the sink need to be loaded in the dishwasher, and the laundry that was washed last night needs to be put in the dryer. The little time you have in the mornings is gone and you need to leave for work. No time for Bible reading!
Even if it will make your life more peaceful or help you in some way, you don’t have time to think about it, research it, buy it, take it, or do it.
Do any of these scenarios sound familiar?
First of all, what are the things that matter?
Because God created you in His image and your body is where He dwells, it’s important to care for your emotional, spiritual, and physical health.
If you are EMOTIONALLY bankrupt, you’re going to have a difficult time practicing gratitude and you are NOT going to be able to encourage anyone else.
If you are SPIRITUALLY not growing, the lens that you see the world through will be filled with fear and hopelessness. You will NOT be operating in the power that God has given you as His child.
If you are PHYSICALLY not taking care of God’s earthly temple, your body, you will NOT be operating optimally and you will eventually have various health issues which can keep you focused inward.
Big picture vision happens when you are operating from a place of emotional, spiritual, and physical health. Does it mean that you have perfect health in all of these areas? Not at all! It means that you are AWARE of who God created you to be, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and you are regularly WORKING ON growing emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
What happens when you have no time to care for yourself?
When you are not making time to care for yourself, your once full pitcher that is busily pouring “water” into all of the people you encounter in your various roles will become empty. Your empty pitcher will be unable to provide “water” for those in your circle of influence.
When you are not making space in your day and week to work on your emotional, spiritual, and physical wellness, you can become burned out, stressed out, and exhausted, having no joy and no peace. Your life is lived without the power and victory that you have as God’s child.
When you aren’t caring for yourself, you are not functioning optimally.
You were created to have relationships with others, to encourage others, and to impact others. It’s never been about you being all by yourself and turned inward only focusing on your own health issues and problems. Yet, please know that tunnel vision is normal when you are walking through a difficult circumstance. When I was walking through a difficult season in the life of my family, I knew I was getting better emotionally, spiritually, and physically when I began to think bigger than myself and my immediate struggles. The goal is to get to a healthier place where you are able to have the big-picture vision.
God created you to fulfill His purpose, to be His hands and feet, to meet the needs of others, to be LIGHT in a dark world, and to be part of HIS BIG PICTURE VISION.
Satan’s greatest tool is busyness. If he can keep you so busy, so distracted, so sick, so tired, and so turned inward, he won’t have to worry about you. Your marginless life will keep that light you have as God’s child hidden under a bowl. Weariness will make your salt have no flavor (Matthew 5:13-16). You won’t be attracting anyone to a relationship with Jesus.
When your pitcher is empty, it not only affects you, but it also affects those in your circle of influence - your spouse, your children, your extended family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors. The world is a darker place than it should be because your light is not shining for others to see. Actively working on your emotional, spiritual, and physical wellness allows you to fill your pitcher, have big-picture vision, be the salt and light in the world that you are called to be as God’s child. Your influence will extend outward like ripples on the surface of a lake and continue to grow larger.
You may be thinking, “I don’t have time for any of these things” - refilling cotton balls, filing my broken fingernail, taking Vitamin C, seeing a counselor, or reading my Bible and I’m doing okay.
But are you doing okay?
Are you going through the motions of each day’s activities but not really living life to the fullest that God intended?
Where are you right now? What’s going on in your life?
What are you doing to work on your emotional, spiritual, and physical health?
How can you start this process?
1. Make time for things that matter by evaluating where you are emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
Resource: These pages from Finding Me: A Woman’s Guide to Learning More About Herself will help you assess where you are currently.
2. Evaluate if you have margin or white space in your schedule to work on these areas.
If not, what can you do to create margin?
3. Talk with a life coach to help you move from where you are to where you want to be.
Resource: Schedule a discovery call with me or another life coach that you may know.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/FamVeld
Renee Bethel, author of Finding Me: A Woman’s Guide to Learning More About Herself is a Professional Christian Life Coach and a Gospel Centered Certified Enneagram Coach. She helps Christian women explore what’s possible and live in alignment with their identity in Christ and their personality so that they have purpose in their second half of life. Renee would love to connect with you on Instagram.
