For iPhone users, we all know this dreaded box that pops up on our phone.
I know, I know, que the "she's about to use this metaphor to apply to life" speech. But, what I am about to say is true... Or it was for me anyway.
Have you ever found yourself reaching that "low battery" point in life? I mean you've already received one warning when you hit 20% indicating that you need to take some time to care for yourself, but you hit "dismiss" instead. What happens after you get that 20% warning? Shortly after you will get your final warning at 10% and once you click "dismiss" on that warning without taking care of yourself you will eventually find yourself dead... I mean not literally... Or at-least I hope not... Haha!
Sometimes we plug our phones in long enough to get that extra fifteen minutes until we again encounter the dreaded "low battery" notification. Believe it or not when we do this to ourselves, like our phones, this method of "charging" is dangerous to our overall life and health.
But whats worse is that like our phones, when our body sends us messages saying "HEY! Your not taking care of yourself" we tend to hit dismiss. The problem I have found with this, yes at the glorious age of twenty-two, is that we cannot ignore our bodies, our emotions, our health, without it reaching the thing we've dreaded all along, the thing that completely wipes us out until we tend to our needs.
Our emotions, our feelings, are our iPhone warning signs and we need to PAY ATTENTION to these warning signs in our life. We need to set ourselves aside and take care of ourselves when we get these warning notifications.
No matter what anyone says, the best way to "get over yourself" is not to tend to someone else's needs and ignore your own because theirs is so much more worse. You see, that's the "im going to plug myself in but still use my phone" method, which as we've already talked about can cause more harm.
You have got to show yourself some self-compassion and give yourself some self-care. No matter how old you are, don't buy the lie that, "You've not been doing ____ long enough to need a break." - That's a lie! Why? Because you're human. No matter how old you are, you're not perfect, and you're susceptible to life, we all are.
Oh, and by the way, let me tell you what this is NOT a result of if you find yourself in this low battery mode.
This is not a result of,
1. Your "prayer life" not being effective.
2. Your age
3. Your relationship with God not "being right"
Let me tell you what it is actually a result of,
1. You trying to please people by not using your assertive right to say no
2. Tending to everyone else's needs but your own
3. Ignoring your emotions and not addressing the "low battery" sign
Its okay that you're in this place, because you aren't perfect, you are an imperfect and broken human in need of grace and love. But what you need to do is to stop what you're doing and take some time to care for yourself.
Stop ignoring the "low battery" warning, get off the phone, stop using the phone while it's charging, set the phone aside and let it charge without interfering with it.
Oh boy, there's so much more that could be said after that last statement, but i'll spare you with a short blog entry.
