A Healing Moment - Living With Yourself - by Donna L. Watkins - The Herbs Place

Some people are hard to live with and sometimes those people are even family members, but it gets really close to home when you realize that you can’t live with yourself.

How often those who are sick are those who don’t take time for themselves. They don’t properly care for themselves with diet, supplements, sleep or by making sure there is enjoyable personal time in their lives.

The Bible says we are to be like little children.  Children know how to play.  Does growing up mean you can no longer play?  A friend of mine recently came back from spending a couple of weeks in Italy and she said "over there they work to live, here we live to work."  In most of the world the pace is much slower and priorities in life much different.

There are so many diseases that are now linked to stress.  There are many who don’t know when to quit and take on more than they are supposed to be doing. Often the mind/thoughts complain knowing they are doing too much, and at some point the body sends out messages to stop [pain].

Fibromyalgia was one of the disease reasons I got the book, " A More Excellent Way".  With great excitement I began writing this devotional to let others know about this incredible book relating disease to our emotions, and to further my own healing as I encouraged others to do the same.

Do you make sure each day includes a time you truly enjoy?  That segment of the day that is just for you?  What would you fill in the blank with on this statement?

If I had more time, I would _________________________.

List the things that come to mind.  In your time with the Lord, ask Him how to change your life around so you will enjoy living with yourself.

Those mental messages of all you "have to" get done and all that is to "be done" takes a great toll on our body.  It’s like we’re never satisfied with our performance.  There’s always a higher bar to jump.  As we attack ourselves, our body begins to agree with us and begins an attack within.  I have to work daily to renew my mind with right thoughts and Scripture because I was a driven person for so many years.  The tasks had become more important than my health and welfare.

I’ve always had a hard time with mercy and I realize it’s because I was never merciful to myself.  Consider Proverbs 11:17:  "The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh."

What is your life wrapped up in?  Do you have your priorities in line with what you really want from life?  What example are you passing along to your children as you live your lifestyle before them?  Do you life on a basis of "Tyranny of the Urgent" without choice of what you do next?

Seeing the devastation of Katrina and hearing the stories certainly causes one to think about what’s important in life.  If a hurricane, or fire, or earthquake, or tornado took away all that you owned, would you find anything left about your life?

When the stock market crashed in 1929 men jumped from office buildings. Why? I have guessed that it was because their lives were their work and the money it created.  Having poured all of their life into their work and the money that was now gone, they had no identity left of themselves.

What is your identity?  Choose today to make it what you really want it to be.  Appeal to those around you to understand your new purpose and schedule. You may entice others to a new way of life.  Are you fulfilling your purpose in life?  Generally you will find it in something you do that comes naturally and that you love doing.  Pursue that!

Psalm 103:1-5
"Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:  Who forgives all my iniquities; who heals all my diseases; Who redeems my life from destruction; who crowns me with loving kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfies my mouth with good things; so that my youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

God loves us so much.  Make time to love yourself!