"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." (Proverbs 3: 5-6)
As a working woman, you are likely involved in many things: work, travel, preparation for
meetings, thinking (or agonizing) about work situations, caring for family, looking after a home, and many other regular activities. As you consider the last week (or month), when was the last time you exercised? If you have been regularly exercising: well done!!! If not, it is time to put it on your list of things to do and schedule it. Looking after yourself may be way down on the list of things you need to do. And, sometimes, the things way down on the list are never completed.
We need to look after ourselves to have the physical energy, clarity of mind, and patience to be efficient and peaceful. Maybe we could call it: peaceful efficiency or efficiently peaceful!
Research tells us that we should be involved in at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week and do strengthening exercises two to three times per week. Regular activity sometimes gets put to the side when we become too busy.
Stressful and busy times can cause much tension, as well as the release of stress hormones and therefore, exercise is a key management strategy for this.
Consider a situation where you have an issue to deal with at work or a difficult decision to
make. At the moment, I am working with a staff member to help with time management
strategies. It is somewhat stressful as I try to balance teaching a better way of doing things with someone who has a solid work ethic. I want to improve a situation in a supportive, caring manner as it is important to me that the staff member always understands how valuable they are.
I can keep thinking about the best way of handling this, but I have decided to trust God, put the situation in His Hands, and commit the process and outcome to Him. I realize that this has been stressful as I care about the problem,the person involved and feel the surrounding emotions. One of the best things I could have done was to go for a walk, pray about it, and give it to God. In that way, I trust God to direct my path and get rid of excess energy since I am exercising while dealing with an issue. This is undoubtedly much better and healthier than trying to solve it when I should be sleeping.
Exercise is a healthy way of dealing with a difficult time. If exercise is usually a part of your
regular activities, make sure you take time to continue your program. This can be difficult if
there is a lot you need to do, think about, and organize, but it is crucial to keep up your strength and decrease the stress hormones circulating in your body. If exercise is not a regular part of your life, consider going for a walk or doing some other activity that you enjoy. You will benefit from the exercise from a physical perspective. And, this is a great time to be talking with God about what is on your mind.
Two main aspects of being physically healthy are to get 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week or about 30 minutes per day, five days per week. Look at your calendar today and schedule time for a walk or run. If you have not been doing any aerobic activity, then even starting with once in the week is terrific as it is a start of getting healthier. In your walk or run, talk to God about something you need to trust Him with. He will direct your path.
Taking This to God in Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for always being with me, no matter what I am going through. thank You that I can trust You in all circumstances and give situation over to You. Please give me the discipline to look after myself physically when I do not see it as a priority or feel I have so much else to do. Thank You for the privilege of being Your workmanship, and please help me to honor what You have made.In Jesus' Name, Amen.
May God richly bless you this week as you steward what He has provided to you. And that
includes looking after yourself!