Self Care for Christian Moms: Caring for Yourself to Better Care for Your Little Ones

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

As Christians, we have sometimes 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.

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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 God’s power.

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

• Reading the Bible
• Listening to an audio Bible
• 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 with the thought that in the Bible, God 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. 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. 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. 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 baby 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 health.

The way our bodies feel has a lot to do with if we can handle the difficulties of the hard mom days or not. I try to get time for exercise, but right now I often don’t find the time. However, 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 the simple choices can make a difference.

Get help.

I am blest to have both sets of grandparents, my children’s aunts, 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 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, or a nap. It’s the little things that count in this stage.

Do something you enjoy.

We have a lot of work that we need to do everyday that is 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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