Hi sweet ladies. I pray this Shabbat is full of shalom for you!
So yesterdays post told you about a huge mistake I made in not continuing to rest when my body truly still needed it. Yesterday’s post showed exactly why the post the day prior is so important! I will have links to both below. This is the third installment of the taking care of yourself series.
Today I feel incredibly blessed that I did not feel anything like I fully expected to. He was so merciful to me and for that I am grateful. Somehow even after pushing myself too much and experiencing extreme pain like I did, I have not felt bad ! I have been a little tired and a little worn out. I had gotten quite tired yesterday from it all. I spent the rest of yesterday and all of today in bed, resting and taking it easy. Normally at this point in my cycle I would be getting back to normal. Yesterday I should have kept resting and doing what I am today and if I had I would be pretty much back to normal today. I know what days I need to do what, we pay attention to that and respect that. I felt so good overall that I miscalculated and didn’t respect resting still. I tried to do it on my own. I know better and knew the signs I had were a warning that I still couldn’t do what I wanted to. I ignored them. I thought I knew better and could still do it. Yep, I was being carnal… I CAN DO THIS was what I was saying even though if I was not being stubborn I would have respected my body. I felt good overall but still needed to FINISH resting.
So today I was unable to do my normal Sabbath prep. The family took care of things. Thankfully everyone was awesome and helped me all day when I needed something. I am not thrilled I messed up todays flow and threw everything off because I had planned to do the things I should have been able to. I didn’t plan like I do when I know I need to get it done differently.
Some woman say to just push through it and suck it up. Honestly women can be much worse about it and act like somehow it makes women like me weaker. I admit it has gotten to me before. Well I know what happens when I don’t rest. Yesterday was an extreme example. There are things I deal with that affects my cycle and can make it a whole lot worse. For the most part, I no longer care what people think. I would rather not get to point where I can barely function while being so weak, worn out and whatever else I may have to struggle through. That is terrible when happens and I hate it when I feel that weak and all the other ways I physically feel.
I really dislike the feeling of uselessness. Having to take up to three days a month resting like I have to can be difficult when feeling like I should be caring for my family and tending to them and the home managing. I was focusing more on my own feelings and wanting to do stuff. I should have stopped and thought even more on how blessed I am for the resting I have been able to do each month for a very long time that used to be days longer and it was much worse how it affected me. Less than a year ago I was a mess for days. I have always had a hard time and sometimes it was easier and other times it was bad. There are things that make it easier or harder so I have to pay attention and adjust. I know what I have to be on top of and be wise about and I have had to adjust things like not having coffee like I used to, I did cut it out and now I don’t drink it much and drinking more water. (Coffee affects a number of things for me so it is in my best interest to limit it if I have it at all). When I do exercise it gets way better too and once again I have to prioritize it and my goal is to start again Monday! For a long time I have been making changes and listening to my body. My husband has been very encouraging and very very adamant that I HAVE TO REST the days I need to. It has made a tremendous difference. Having a family to support it makes it easier.
This is what I deal with, a difficult cycle. It has also been used to teach some things to our children and they have watched their father step up and sacrifice for me and make what I deal with a priority. I know I need it and I know he desires to help me any way he can. Words can’t express my thankfulness and how much I recognize that I am truly incredibly blessed. I certainly don’t deserve it. Yah is so full of grace and mercy that it overwhelms me! Even as I have had my moments I don’t do things should and even after I pushed myself to the brink where I didn’t think I could walk out of the store or even be able to handle anymore pain, somehow today I am NOT weak and weary , a lot of today I have been thinking about how incredibly blessed we can be. My body was not happy yesterday and made it clear in a loud way. Today, I feel so good. HOW? WHY?
REST is the reason why (along with His mercy and grace). It does wonders for bodies. Yah gives us a weekly rest, He knows we need it. He wants us to respect the cycles of niddah and weekly Shabbat. When we don’t respect them it WILL break us, maybe not right away but it will catch up. These cycles that require rest is a gift and a blessing. He knew what He was doing. When we don’t respect them it hurts us. When we are constantly moving and being busy it will catch up, physically and spiritually. When we don’t take our monthly rest as we need it hurts us in the same ways. Imagine how we would be if we didnt have a couple days like this to force us to slow down. Our bodies need it, they go through a lot. We can just go and go and go. Not a good idea but women do it to ourselves a lot. Yesterday I felt so good before I pushed myself because I had been resting the days prior. My body was getting what it needed. I ruined it by not continuing in that rest.
When we don’t rest and continue in His rest cycles it causes problems. We must take care of ourselves, must listen to our bodies for the niddah cycle and we must rest on Shabbat. All of it is connected. When we don’t respect one or more of them it throws off the others. When we don’t take care of ourselves and respect the niddah cycle it can make preparing for Shabbat a whole lot harder or basically non existent. When we aren’t able to prepare for Shabbat it affects our ability to truly rest and enjoy it the way He intended. I’m referring right now to the purpose of when we don’t prepare well because we don’t respect those things, not because of seasons or a hard day. Those have their own things to help and we can’t always help them and have to adjust. When we ignore our bodies or don’t take time to rest according to His cycles that is something else needing to be addressed and worked on, we can control much of it.
If this is a difficulty for you, I pray you get relief and can take a much needed break. You are seen and are being prayed for.
Making sure we rest according to what He set in motion is for our benefit. Ignoring those things doesn’t make us superior or strong, it is foolish. He didn’t design it the way He did just to do it, there is a purpose behind it and it is for our benefit. We need to stop ignoring our bodies when they give us signs that we need to stop and take care of it, however we can. It needs to be made a priority. I choose to trust and believe Yah and what He has set in motion, I do not know better than Him.
When we take the time to rest according to His cycles it often gives us time to do things. Connecting with Him is a huge perk when we are resting. Spending time in Bible Study, prayer and meditating on His word can be done extra compared to usual. We can also spend time thinking on how we can improve ourselves or how to make marriage and families even better. They are good times to think on how we can better live out the fruits of the spirit. When we are resting we have lots of ability to focus on Him and being more Yeshua like. What a gift to have times Yah wants us to rest that can be used to strengthen our connection to Him and to our families.
When we don’t prioritize rest in the areas we need to, there is a chance the fruits of the spirit are lacking. When we are burnt out, extra tired and grumpy what are we probably displaying? Good fruit or not so good fruit? One major way to help ensure the fruits of the spirit are what we display is to take care of ourselves and listen to our bodies. We are not doing anyone, including ourselves any good service when we ignore and it affects us negatively. Are we really focusing on the things Above like we should when we haven’t been following his rest?
Taking the time to care for our temple and resting as He commands is all for our benefit physically and spiritually. We connect better where it matters when we follow what He set in motion. It is a blessing and a gift. Will we take care of that gift and use it for its designed purpose?
Until next time!
This one is first one for this series to read below
https://torahwoman.com/2022/02/24/taking-care-of-yourself-is-a-part-of-loving-your-family/
The one below is the second one to this series to read
