Should Mom get a Sick Day?

With my head spinning and my stomach churning, I anxiously prayed about how to handle my sick day.  It’s one of those benefits that I forgot to consider when I first accepted the position as mommy.  But the truth is mommies have no sick days!  When we have a cold, we down the decongestant; when we have a headache, we take some ibuprofen; we do what we have to in order to keep up with the demands of our 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week job.   We can be running a fever but we still find the reserves within ourselves to run our children around to their various activities.   Ironically as we ignore our own physical needs to ensure that our children are fulfilling their social obligations, we are neglecting our own scripturally dictated responsibilities.   

When we mistreat our bodies, we are chastised by the words of Paul who says, “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 NLT. When we accepted Christ as our savior, our bodies became God’s.  The Holy Spirit came to live in us and our bodies were no longer our own.  In fact in 1 Corinthians 6:20, we are commanded that we “must honor God with” our bodies.  To honor something means to respect it; we must listen to our bodies and nurture them if we are to honor the Holy Spirit that resides within us.  We must take the time to heal ourselves and get well when we are fighting off illnesses. 

Still, knowing we need to take care of ourselves and actually doing it are two different things.  Where can we turn when all we want to do is call in sick and pull the covers over our heads?  Personally, I wished I could have registered for a stay at my local maternity ward.  You know things are bad when you are waxing nostalgic about the care you received while recovering from a c-section.  It wasn’t that I wished for hourly blood pressure checks or temperature readings; I just wanted someone else to take the load off of my shoulders.  I wanted someone else to say, “You close your eyes and rest.  I’ve got it.”  

Luckily a good friend of mine shared a passage with me.  She spoke the words that God wanted me to hear.  She reminded me that there was someone there who was holding me—that person was my Savior.  Through her, He was calling to me.  He said “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest.  [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls].”  Matthew 11:28 AMP.  He knew I was afraid to rest while my children were in the house and that I was worried about not getting them to the field trip that our homeschool Girl Scout troop had planned.  So He promised me “do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”  Isaiah 41:10 NIV.  I put my faith in Him and gave my body the rest it so desperately needed.  My husband rented my girls a ton of movies to keep them busy and we cancelled all of our activities for the day.  I drank a ton of water, ate applesauce and chicken noodle soup and allowed my girls to just take the day off.  Luckily the next day was Saturday so I had another 2 days “off” to recover and care for not just myself, but for my Father’s earthly home.  

What can you do today to show God that you are honoring him by taking care of His temple?  If there doesn’t seem like there is enough time in your day for exercise, eating nutritionally or getting enough sleep, start with a prayer.  Ask God to show you how to take care of yourself in a way that shows Him that you love Him and respect His commands for your life