“ Meanwhile, Jesus would slip away to deserted places and pray.” -Luke 5:16
“Go home.”
I looked up at my boss, startled by his sharp tone. Leaning against the jam, he pushed his head through the cracked opening in my office door.
“Go home. Read a book. I think you need a break.”
A million thoughts raced through my mind as I took in his strong suggestion. Was this a kind gesture? A sign of insight? An insult? We had just come out of our weekly staff meeting. I had spoken strongly, but as I rehashed the conversation in my mind, I didn’t think I was acting particularly out of character.
The airline safety protocol of put your own oxygen mask on first has become a metaphor for prioritizing our own well being, the pull towards treat yourself culture can often feel like consumerism repackaged. It can be challenging to prioritize our own needs when juggling the many demands of being a person in community.
While I took my boss’s advice and spent the afternoon out-of-the-office, I also spent the next few days processing what changes I could make to better care for myself. Escaping into a rom-com for an hour was a reprieve from the stressors of the week, but no amount of fiction can fill an empty tank.
The reality is that many of the things that we need to do for our self-care are bigger than taking a hot shower, getting our nails done or having a fancy coffee. While those things are good they are more about self-comfort than self-care.
Often the things that address our deeper need for self-care are things that may make us feel worse before we feel better– honest conversations, enforcing new boundaries, building strength, disappointing others so we don’t have to disappoint ourselves.
May I care for myself, examining my deepest needs and prioritizing my well-being, as a way of honoring who you have called and created me to be, O God.
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Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.
some comfort and joy 