October Sunrise 

In the midst of horrible events, the question at RevGals is, how do we as leaders of faith communities, be tender with ourselves as a means of self-care?

I have had a rough few weeks… multiple migraines (thank you hurricane season), a thankfully short bout of the flu and then back problems, the launch of ‘Mindful Mondays,’ a new ministry initiative to try and engage some of the spiritual but not religious, along with a crazy busy and stressful time in my interim ministry. A lot of my regular self-care seems to have disappeared over the past month or so.

Staying at home for most of two days, a couple of chiropractic treatments and I was feeling great yesterday! I solved the technology problems at my small church, I printed bulletins and announcement inserts as my secretary was on vacation this week, I attended the monthly Senior’s Lunch and heard a little about modern forestry from the guest speaker, I posted my sermon on my own website, updated the church’s website, responded to a variety of emails and phone calls, and managed to get a traffic fine reduced by more than half! It pays to go to traffic court. Did I mention that my husband and I are in the midst of renegotiating our mortgage?

Today, despite feeling great when I woke up, my back started spasming again and I am getting an aura, which signifies another migraine. So, today I am:

1. Lying in bed with the heating pad.
2. I will read some escapist fiction.
3. If my head permits, I will watch Grace and Frankie… I know I am late to the party, but we just recently got Netflix.
4. I will ignore my ‘to do’ list.
5. And just so that you don’t think I am totally self absorbed, I will continue to focus on gratitude, which puts EVERYTHING into perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving!