Soul Care

By: Jenifer Metzger

We live in a time where "Self Care" is a trending phrase. Women are encouraged to take care of themselves. To get that mani/pedi. To go to the gym or go for a walk. To read a book. To get a massage. To go to lunch with a girlfriend. To take a nap. Those are all great things. They help us to slow down, take a deep breath, and unwind. We often feel relaxed and peaceful after these moments of self care. However, as glorious as they sound and even feel, they are temporary.

We take a nap, but get tired again. We get a manicure, but in two weeks we need another. Every wonderful and amazing thing you can think of for self care is fleeting. Soul care, on the other hand, is what our very most inner being is desperately craving.

Soul care takes us beyond the temporary things the world can offer and takes us to a deeper place where the very One who created our soul can satisfy.

So what is soul care? We were created by God for His plan and purpose. We have a God sized space within our soul that only He can fill. Think of those children's toys where you put the shapes into the holes. The square shape will not fit into the oval hole no matter how hard you try. Likewise, filling our soul with temporary or worldly things will never, ever satisfy us. We must fill this space with God alone.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not

want. He makes me lie down in green

pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul. He leads me in

paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Psalm 23:1-3

How to care for your soul:

Be in the Word. We say that a lot around here and we say it because it matters. Reading the Bible is vital to the Christian. When we read Scripture, we are filling our soul with God Himself. The Word is like balm to our broken and hurting spirit. The best gift you can give yourself each day is to sit down and read the Word of God.

Be a woman of prayer. Prayer is simply a conversation with God, our heavenly Father. Just like sitting down to have a conversation with your spouse or a dear friend is encouraging, sitting down for a conversation with God is life giving. We can pray by just telling God how good He is and how much we love Him, we can give thanks for any and everything, we can lift our needs to God, and we can pray for others. Prayer doesn't have to be confined to one time of day with eyes closed. We can pray as we go about our daily tasks, we can pray all throughout our day.

Listen to worship music. Have you ever noticed how you feel so good when you're singing worship music at church? How you feel so connected to God with hand raised high surrounded by your church family? When we sing to God, we glorify Him, this is our purpose. With smart phones, radios, smart home devices, and more, worship music is literally at our finger tips. We can worship God through listening to and singing worship at any given moment and feel that same connection outside the four walls of church.

Listen to encouragement. Being in the Word, as we said, is vital. We should be intentional with reading the Bible daily. In addition to a Bible time, we can return to Scripture throughout the day for a verse here and there. However, we cannot read the Bible all day long. We have homes, families, and jobs to care for. What we can do is listen to sermons, podcasts, and audio books by respected Christian authors. I love to pull up Youtube and go back and listen to sermons by my pastor or replay our worship from church as I'm cleaning my home.

Talk to other Christians. Ask other Christians what God is doing in their life, what He is teaching them. Ask how they came to give their life to God. Ask their testimony. These conversations with other believers can inspire and encourage us. It can help us to see the hand of God in the lives of others and spur us to see the hand of God in our own lives.

Enjoy nature. Personally, when I am out in nature, whether sitting by the lake or on a walk or just watching the clouds float by, I feel the presence of God. Nature was created by the hand of God and it always points back to Him. There is no way to not see God in His creation.

Self care is nice. Believe me, I enjoy a manicure and my Sunday nap is heaven sent. But soul care is what our souls long for. Whether we know it or not, our souls are deeply longing to connect with the One who created us.

Discussion:
1. Do you prioritize soul care? If so, how? If not, how can you moving forward?
2. For fun, what is your favorite activity for self care?

from Woman to Woman
Umn ministry