Out of My Head

“And why are you mad, are you out of your head? “ 
The pig said,” I am not out of my head!
See what is after me! Look!” she said.”

\These were the words my seven year old was reading from “A Fly Went By”, one of my favorite early reader books. He was so tickled by those words. Each time he read “out of my head,” he giggled. Such adorable innocence. All the while I am thinking, “I’m a little out of my head these days, and not nearly as amused.”

Call it hormones, stress, fatigue, I don’t know, but the disconnect I feel is real and oh so frustrating. I cannot form a complete sentence on any given day. I lack the drive to even try.  I feel frazzled and out of control. I am beginning to doubt my ability to carry out everyday tasks as my memory and zest for life fail me!
 
Enter my wise daughter of 25 years. She made the critical mistake of calling to ask how I was.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I am likely to give anything but the Reader’s Digest condensed version of my internal state of affairs when confronted with that question! As I begin to confide in her about my crazy, “out of my head” condition, she says, “Have you prayed about it?”  In my weeping state of lunacy, I am elated to hear that question come out of her mouth and simultaneously bewildered that my answer is “no, I haven’t.” Whoa.  As I took a step back, I realized that I was not at all in prayer about this cloudy head syndrome of mine. I was frustrated, fretting and freaking out, but no, no prayer. I explained to her that I, hated how I was feeling, and I did not understand why I was coming apart. But she nailed it. I was coming unglued because I forgot to pray. Don’t misunderstand; I’ve been praying a lot, for a lot of folks and their situations. But I forgot about me. And I would venture to guess that you do the same. We get so busy taking care of everyone else’s needs that we sometimes forget to care for ourselves. It is not a selfish act to ask God to cover us, to settle us and to give us peace in our storms. I know that, and yet I still forgot.

Going forward, I am going to include my emotional health needs in my prayers. I am no good to my peeps when I’m out of my head! And I will pray for you also, that you don’t forget to tend to yourself. You are valuable, and God wants you to be healthy to further His kingdom. His power is sufficient to dig us out of any pit and to carry us through any storm. We just have to ask…

Today I prayed for peace. I asked for God to give me clarity of mind and energy for the tasks at hand. I know that His Holy Spirit is within me, and that is my power source.
                                                               I vow to start the day with the 4 P’s.
                                                            Pause…Pray…Praise…and have Peace
                               I encourage you to do the same. Self care is vital, and it begins with a dedicated time
​                   every day with God in prayer and in His Word. He needs healthy disciples! So, let’s do this together.

​“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.  Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent?  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11

​I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Phillipians 4:13

Heavenly Father, I come to you a weak and empty vessel. Please fill me with your goodness and with a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. It is only through you that I have purpose. Help me to do your will. In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN