I bought a shirt with a picture of a sloth smiling in his police mug shot. His crime? Being too slow.
As a type A, driven person, I needed that shirt. Good self-care requires us to take a break sometimes. I spent one of my tour days in Costa Rica sitting on the beach with my mom. We dragged a lounge chair down into the water so she could lay on it safely and still enjoy the waves. I poured mud on her legs and we called it our “mud bath.” We joked that I may have saved her $50 at the spa!
I sat there, watching the waves go in and out, trying to match my breathing with the waves. Good self-care requires us to do this sometimes.
I met a very nice woman on this tour who reminds me a lot of me. At age 76 she mows use her own grass and takes care of everything at the house. Her husband is in ill health with a neurodegenerative disease that has no cure. I encouraged her to develop relationships now with those who could help with him down the road and gave her the name of a great national support group. But in our culture, the devil gives us the false perception that we are weak if we ask for help. In truth, we enable others to develop blessings by helping. That is the essence of community, which we have sadly lost in some segments of our western culture. I am glad she took this trip with her granddaughter as a respite for herself.
Today, I encourage you to plan a “sloth day.” Be slow. Take it all in and give God the glory!