Love God; love your neighbor as you love yourself.

I feel very fortunate that I grew up in a loving family, and I feel grateful to my parents (and four older sisters) for raising me in a stable, nurturing, ordered home. I feel that I was equipped by them to grow into a somewhat healthy adult, and to raise my son Eli in a loving home. 

I can have memories of camp-outs with my dad, and of going hunting with him in East Texas, where I learned a lot about patience: waiting hours in the cold rain for any deer to emerge from the protective woods. I remember delicious meals my mom prepared, and being sent to bed on time most of the time. Again, those are experiences I draw on to try to be the best parent I can be for my son. It also helps me know how to be a parent for myself. 

I remember my parents teaching me about God as my heavenly Father. I know now that though I've moved away from my parents home and stared a life of my own, that my heavenly Father/Mother God is still and will always remain present with me. God is there to turn to for help and guidance, and to give me strength to live in the most challenging times. Part of that relationship also requires me to take on a parenting role for myself! Neither God nor my earthly parents aren't likely to tell me to go to bed when it's late, to eat healthy meals, or even when it's time to get away and go camping; though when I take time to pray, I am reminded of what my soul needs when. Now, those parenting responsibilities are on me for myself. It's up to me to arrange my schedule, and be intentional about my calendar.  

The reason I'm writing about this is because I needed to take care of myself recently. It is easy to get into a dark place these days. We are limited by the Coronavirus, and life is altered for all of us in some way. The world itself is shifting, and I look forward to the emerging reality we may be headed toward. Yet, in the midst of a change our anxiety kicks up. The ego likes stability, certainty, and predictability. When that is lacking, we respond with anxiety: the fear of the unknown. We can become overwhelmed with the many issues calling for our attention. If we anesthetize with too much comfort food, drink or drug, or by escaping into binge watching, the issues do not go away, and our anxiety is only temporarily pushed down. Then there's the social media frenzy. I've all but stopped using social media except to post services of our church, because inevitably some hateful post or comment will catch my eye in that anonymous feeling medium, and I'm left with anger at injustice, sadness at cruelty, or embarrassment for the spread of misinformation. 

At that point, if I'm being conscious of what I'm up to, I remember to parent myself. I set healthy limits to social media; go to bed on time; feed myself healthy food; drink plenty of water; go get exercise; and as I recently did, go see change the scenery. Like those hunting and camping trips with my dad, I now have to make time to get out, away to go visit mother nature, to be nurtured by wilderness. No one else is likely to make sure I'm taking care of myself. I turn to God for strength to do the right thing, but it is up to me to follow through. Only then can I be a healthy husband for Laura, father for Eli, pastor for my congregation. In these challenging times, I encourage you to remember to parent yourself. Jesus taught the summary of the law (I paraphrase), "Love God; love your neighbor as you love yourself." We need to be loving to each other, but unless we love ourselves (keeping ourselves healthy as our own parent) we may not be able to love each other. 

While we are staying apart to manage the spread of the Coronavirus, we lose the sense of accountability we normally enjoy. Know that I hold you in my prayers as I pray daily for the world and our community suffering in so many ways, known and unknown. Know that God will be with you to give you the strength to do the healthy thing for yourself. Our heavenly Father/Mother is there to nurture you, as you parent yourself. Then, you can share love with others, as Jesus commands us to do.