Self-Care and Soul-Care for Christian Moms

Sometimes in order to better care for our families, we need to care for ourselves too.

As Christian moms, we have often been taught to not care for ourselves. We are supposed to die to ourselves, and live poured out for others. Being a busy mom has forced me to reevaluate that. I do believe in dying to self and giving our all to others, but I have seen another side of self-care, the side of caring for myself so I can better care for mine.

What Christian Self-Care Might Look Like

The idea that we often get of how self-care should look is maybe one we should reject. If we need hours every day just to do our own thing, if we have to have certain commodities, maybe we are doing something wrong.

See the video.

I have heard Christian self-care referred to as “soul care.” I like that. We can take care of our soul’s needs, and God directs us in the rest. We don’t always need to be well in order to thrive, because we have power from the Holy Spirit.

That said, we need our cups filled to be able to give to others. There are simple ways we can allow God to fill our cups.

• Reading God’s Word
• Listening to an audio Bible
• ​Meditating on Bible verses
• Spending time in prayer
• Singing
• Spending time with good friends

I encourage you to make soul care a priority. Sometimes as busy moms we can’t sit down and take a bunch of time for Bible study. But maybe you can simply listen to an audio Bible as you do your laundry. 

I have been encouraged by the thought that in the Word of God, He met women when they were working. He can meet us in the mundane over dishes and laundry, if we simply turn our heart to Him. 

The Reality of Mom Burnout

All of us go through hard mom days, and I think being new moms makes us very prone to burn out. I have been through several seasons of overwhelm, where I feel like I could snap at any moment. Hard is not always bad, but sometimes to be a good mom I need the moments to let out tension and take care of my own needs and mental health. It’s like they say on airplanes, putting on your own oxygen mask before helping others. I also need to remember that in the times when I just can’t do “self-care” Jesus has the answer.

Mom Self-Care Ideas

Here are some simple ideas of things you can do to take care of yourself in order to better care for yours. Certainly there are more ways, but these are just some that I use the most.

Learn to say no to extras.

Part of taking care that we don’t get to overwhelmed means not putting too much on our plate. I run into this problem on a  regular basis when I make my to-do list too long. Say no to extra activities and outings (even good ones) if they make you feel overwhelmed. I am a go-getter who would love to be doing all the projects. But in this littles season I need to step back, prioritize rest, and hardly do more than just take care of my home and family. 

Take care of your physical health.

The way our physical bodies feel has a lot to do with whether we can handle the difficulties of the hard mom days or not. I try to get time for exercise. I have to make meals anyway, so I try to make food that is reasonably healthy, take my supplements, and not eat too much that is bad for my health. I am certainly not one to go to extremes to eat healthy, but even simple choices can make a difference. 

Try to get enough sleep. It is hard to do that with a baby, but sometimes it is better to sleep and let some of our work get behind,

Get help.

I am blest to have both sets of grandparents, a trustworthy neighbor, and a good husband that are all willing to sometimes take care of my children awhile so that I can get a break. You might not have so many options, but I think if you search for them, you will find good people who would be able to help you occasionally. 

I love my children dearly, but sometimes the work of them can get to be a lot. If I can just leave them with someone else for a little while, I find I can care for them much better again.

Take a break.

Occasionally in all the running around I need a little break. I have a beautiful mountain view behind my house, so I like to stop, look out, breathe deeply, and remember that there is more to life than just my four walls. Sometimes a mental break includes a walk, a cup of tea or coffee, a nap, or a bubble bath (except I can’t do that because I don’t have a bathtub!). It’s the little things that count in this stage. Remember that a “social media break” often does not refresh us like we think it does.

Do something you enjoy.

We have a lot of work, and good work it is, that we need to do every day with just the normal, mundane of housekeeping and homemaking. Sometimes we can enjoy it better if we take some time to do something we really enjoy. I encourage you to find some hobby or project that you enjoy and occasionally take a bit time for it. You will find it will give you strength to do the work you don’t enjoy so much.

Summing it up

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