WEDNESDAY: GIVE TO YOURSELF AND RECEIVE IT!

Don’t give up; just give!

Many people are generous with others and really mean-spirited to themselves. They never give themselves any love, credit, care, grace, any thing, or any time—for resting, recuperation, joy, spiritual renewal, learning, fun, balance, being alone, health or exercise.

If we live like this, we burn out and don’t have the energy or spirit to be generous because it’s all we can do to make it from day to day. And often we become martyrs—a state that definitely doesn’t have a spirit of generosity!

We can’t continuously give to others without allowing something to flow back in—the most renewing source is God’s love! Remember it is a flow. If you are not surrounded with humans who give to you and balance the flow, you can always go directly to God, who is pouring grace and blessings out on you continuously. Ask for and receive those blessings. He even tells us to “ask and ye shall receive”—our job is to let His love into our hearts.

For the full flow, there has to be generous giving and active receiving. Are you giving yourself enough time and gifts to keep you in that flowing stream?

“THE GIFTS”

By gifts, I mean the gift of time to yourself; to do something you love to do; to exercise; to stop and have a quiet moment somewhere; to go somewhere special to celebrate; to play sport; to hang out with friends you have not seen for ages, or even to have a bath and read a book.

And doing things for yourself doesn’t mean you have to do things by yourself!

Find ways to make activities do double duty—for example, housework. Instead of perceiving it as an onerous chore, choose to perceive it as being fun and rewarding! If you could teach your whole family that this shared activity is rewarding and fun, there might be several of you sharing the housework and then everyone wins.

Listen today for any words you say to yourself that are not full of grace and kindness. Who are you to say you don’t deserve grace when God has decided you do!

Know that you will never be perfect—no one will. All you can do is be the best you can be that day. And do your best again the next day. This is the gift of patience.

The gift of self-love and self-acceptance is a lifetime journey for most of us. (Self-loathing is easy!)

I remember walking beside the beach in Greece when I was 23. I was in a bikini, tanned, young, vibrant, healthy and happy. I bet I looked radiant. Three Greek men walked past and one said, “Nice face, short legs!” Fortunately I thought it was funny, but do you know, 29 years later I still remember it!

And if I am really honest, I did sometimes wonder after that if my legs were too short. Now at 53, I really don’t care and know my husband loves my legs! I love my legs! They work really well, are strong, a good shape, and are the perfect length for me!

Can you transform similar experiences in your life? Can you love and accept yourself and the fact that you are doing the best you can, given all your skills and knowledge right now?

It doesn’t matter what you do to recharge your battery and how you are generous with yourself or how you reconnect with the flow—but to reconnect is your mission for today. Make the commitment to give yourself these “gifts.” And then make sure you receive the joy—enjoy—every moment of it.

You deserve it.

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