Taking Time Out for Yourself
About five years ago when I was completing the Graduate Cerificate in Children and Families Ministry, I was doing an online subject called “The Inner Life of a Disciple of Christ”. As part of our assessment we needed to complete a Day of Quiet and then write about it. We were encouraged to spend about five hours by ourselves in a place where we wouldn’t be disturbed. So that we weren’t tempted to do other things, we were advised that we do this retreat away from home. I spent five hours in a local park. This day was very beneficial and I vowed to make this a regular practice. However, I only managed to do just a couple of retreats for a few hours but they quickly fizzled out. The idea of doing retreats like this stayed on my mind. I would even plan for a retreat time but then not go ahead with them.
Fast forward to October 2022 and I was completing the Coach Mastery Certification. As part of this course we had to do a number of hours of practical coaching. This included peer coaching as well as coaching others. During peer coaching sessions we would coach each other (about 20 minutes each), on real life or work issues we were facing.
On this particular day the issue I wanted coaching on was should I do the half day retreat I had planned for the end of the week or should I do other things that were pressing. The coaching session helped me to process and clarify my thinking around the issue. It also helped me to understand why I was hesitant to take this half day retreat. Either during the coaching session or just after I looked at my diary to where I had penciled in the half day retreat. I went to add that this was an appointment with God and that God was reminding me that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. God was saying to me “Come away with me”. As I was writing these notes I noticed that the affirmation for the week at the top of my diary was “actually, I can”. To me this was a confirmation that actually, I can take time off for a retreat. Actually I can and actually I needed to.
Since then I have taken regular monthly retreats. They are in my calendar for each month. If I don’t take them on the designated day I move them to another day in the week or the same day the following week.
This is just one example of how coaching can empower you to take positive action and move forward in your life. Recently I met with someone to coach them. When I arrived they were talking to a colleague who was checking if they were available for something else on another day. They said that they were planning to take that day off & the colleague accepted that. Later, I congratulated him on saying that he was planning on taking the day off. He said that it is something that he has learned that he needs to do and it has not always come easy to him.
Do you take time out for yourself? Whether it’s from ministry or other life responsibilities. We all need to take time for ourselves. How do you take time out for yourself?
You may be in a stage of life where you can’t take a half day or even a few hours away by yourself. No matter what season you are in you can take time for yourself in some way. For example if you are in the season of parenting where you still have young children, it is still possible to take time for yourself.
What would help you to know that “actually, I can” take time for myself?
