We talk so often about self-care and about relationships. Today, I want you to take a moment and really reflect on the relationships you've forged over the past several years. Treasure them in your heart and consider what you can do to reach out and strengthen them. The best thing you can do for self-care is to wrap your heart around your close relationships. Let go of the fear of heartbreak and go all-in. Why? Because we were created for community, and because love is what fuels our desire to get healthier, get stronger, feel better, and live well.

Yesterday, I went to see my first group of 7th graders graduate from high school. It was beautiful and bittersweet, and many tears were shed. As I went around and hugged each of the 30 students that kicked off my teaching career, I thought about how much I really have loved them, even when they made me crazy. I taught almost all of those kiddos 3+ times across their middle and high school years.

I'm no longer a teacher. I'm a writer, a wife, a mom... I volunteer-write with the Church we're helping to plant in downtown Austin, I create websites for friends in business, I write for my "day job". I love where I am, and I don't miss teaching... but I'll love and miss those kiddos forever.

Take another moment to reflect on your relationships. Sometimes we just breeze through life. My daughter is turning 12 in a few days - just the age the class of 2018 was when I met them. I hate the cliche, "Treasure every moment because it goes by so fast," but yesterday it felt very, very true.

Treasured Relationships

Sarah Jo's faves book montage