Hard Work

Psalm 51:10-15

“Self-care” has become a ubiquitous mental health concept in our discourse these days. It is a widely used phrase, especially on social media, to describe a number of things. We see it in marketing language where spas or nail salons might advertise their services as an act of self-care. We read people describe acts of indulgence (taking time off work to ski, spending hours in bed watching tv) as taking time for self-care.

I would venture to say at this point that self-care is a bit more involved than that. I think, personally, that self-care involves a bit of hard work. For me, self-care is having a regular therapy appointment, doing my laundry, staying on top of my stretches I have to do, tending to my work and home environment so I can stay regulated, cooking and eating nutritious food, tending to my relationships, and keeping the excesses at bay.

Self-care involves work. And I think there is a version of self-care we must do in our spiritual lives as well. Lest we allow it to run on auto-pilot, we need to employ self-care in our spiritual lives. We need to tend to our faith, reading scripture and praying regularly. We need to remain connected to our faith communities. Self-care might also involve taking time away to be in retreat, closing off the things that drive us to temptation and distraction.

First and foremost, let me just say that I can’t tell you what YOUR self-care should be. The word “self” is important. But I would say that, for me at least, self-care is hard work. And spiritual self-care is, too. It is laden with intention and seeks growth. My hope is that, should I engage in acts of spiritual self-care, I can be in a place where I can grow from hardship and trials rather than be defeated by them.

I also think that self-care makes space for God to work in our hearts as well. At Lakewood UMC, this week begins our journey through a time of communal self-reflection and pentitence called Lent. And the Psalm read at the very start of the lenten journey on Ash Wednesday is Psalm 51, which cries out for God to “create in me a clean heart.”

Lent can be a time of spiritual spring cleaning—that in and of itself might also be seen as an act of self-care, too. And it is hard work.

But that hard work is possible because we do not do the journey alone. We do it in community. I hope you have a place to journey through this season of Lent if you are a Christian. And if you don’t, we have a space for you to take that journey with us here at Lakewood United Methodist Church.