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have always seen myself as the nurturer, the person who took care of others' needs
far beyond my own. As I got ready for my shower this morning, my grandson's words
kept running through my mind. "Grandma," he said, "you had that
shirt on yesterday!" Being five-years-old, I didn't think he would notice
this. I replied, "Well, you look very good today. I like your outfit."
A look of horror filled his eyes as he stated, "No, I don't! I can't look
nice today. I have to wear dirty clothes!" Knowing his class was going to see the cows at a local feedlot, I told him that I was sure that the teacher meant that he should wear something that he wouldn't mind if it got dirty. Adamantly he replied, "No, Grandma, we have to look dirty!" I chuckled to myself, knowing I had lost the battle and loaded him up to go to school. On my way home I pondered the words he had said to me. . . "You wore that shirt yesterday!" Did everyone see me that way? What did God think about me not taking care of my body? I knew I was in the shape I was in partially because I always put everyone else's needs first. Inherited genes may play a big part in what will eventually happen with our bodies, but we as individuals have to take some responsibility for the outcome, especially when we put ourselves last. God had given me a great body and I had generally been able to do the things I had wanted to do until I myself stopped taking good care of "me." There are days when the pain is so great that I do not want to take care of myself. Then there are those days when I hate not being able to do the things I used to do. . . So I abuse myself even more by purposely not doing the daily routines my body needs. No, I think to myself, I don't need to brush my teeth, or who will notice if I have the same shirt on? Or I'll do it tomorrow. How many times do we say these things to ourselves because we don't feel worthy? We feel we have somehow failed, because our bodies did not hold out as long as they should have. And people tell us this too! God does feel we are worthy though. God cares about what we do with our bodies. He wants us to keep taking care of ourselves physically as well as spiritually even though it is difficult each day. Lord, help me to see my own needs as well as others. Help me to realize my own self-worth and give me strength to go beyond my pain to see your Spirit grow in me.
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| All information on this web site and from HopeKeepers MagazineŽ is copyright, 2004, not to be used without permission in print or electronically. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes your acceptance of our Terms and Conditions. Please contact us at rest@restministries.org if you would like to reprint it for public use. Permission is not needed for 10 or less copies of personal use (send to a friend, share with your support group, etc.) We're happy to answer your questions about it. |
Nancy
Carr resides in Kansas with her two best friends- her husband and dog, Mindy.
Nancy has degenerative disc disease and cranial nerve damage. She is retired from
teaching elementary music. 
This
article was featured in our Nov/Dec 2004 issue.You are receiving this because you have requested to receive mail from us. To unsubscribe send an email to news@restministries.org with the subject line HKunsubscribe.
All information on this web site and from HopeKeepers MagazineŽ is copyright, 2004, not to be used without permission in print or electronically. All rights reserved. Use of this site constitutes your acceptance of our Terms and Conditions. Please contact us at rest@restministries.org if you would like to reprint it for public use. Permission is not needed for 10 or less copies of personal use (send to a friend, share with your support group, etc.) We're happy to answer your questions about it.