But if it means neglecting essential aspects of your life, the results can be harmful. Even fatal.
When my late wife's health was failing, it was easy to just focus on her. I mean, come on, she was worth it! But if I neglected my own health, mentally and physically, the harmful effects wouldn't do the rest of my family or I any good.
It isn't selfish to put some of your essential needs ahead of someone else's. Even Jesus, who gave all that He could for the people, including His life, went off alone quite often to reflect, pray, and rest.
A few weeks ago, I came to the hard decision to shift some of my energy from writing to cleaning up my yard--don't worry, I still write in the mornings. I had meant to keep up with the yard work, and years of utter neglect showed, but it was the hard determination to just go ahead and do it that jarred it loose. I gathered the tools I needed, bought ones that I did not own, and dedicated time each and every night to the task at hand. It's not done, but it looks a heck of a lot better than before.
You see, through all the years of focusing my time and energy on my late wife, caring and loving her, these aspects of the family suffered. This included my health. Last June I joined a gym. I needed to improve my health. Weight loss was a must.
Exercise quickly became a daily habit.
Because I wanted to improve.
Because I wanted to serve others in a better capacity.
And to love? Possibly the same kind of love I showed my sweet, precious angel, who let go of my hand on January 16, 2020, at 10:15am and grabbed the mighty hand of Jesus as He took her into Heaven?
I . . . I think so.
Am I ready?
That, my friend, I don't know.
But I'm willing to try.
