Today, I would like to suggest that each of us just step back and take a deep breath. If your life is like mine, things have been a bit hectic of late, and perhaps the best thing we can do is to try to break this cycle of frantic living that has engulfed us. Winding down one sports season, starting the summer season, getting to the end of school, article deadlines, gardening and yard work all have grabbed our attention and demand our time and energies. However, I would venture to say that many of us have not stopped to think about ourselves lately and the things we can and should be doing to take care of our own spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.

If you have flown on an airplane, you are familiar with the preflight briefings that we sit through each time we board a plane. The instruction to place an oxygen mask on ourselves before placing one on a child or other traveling companion is intended to insure that we are taking care of ourselves so that we can then take care of others. Perhaps we should listen to a similar preflight briefing periodically in our daily lives. We must be conscious of our needs and prioritize the necessary time in our busy lives to make sure that we are not only maintaining, but growing, in our relationship with God. Only then can we be effective in helping others.

One way to accomplish this growth in our spirituality is to prioritize a short amount of time at the beginning of each day to dialogue with Jesus, to listen to Him. Recently, I attended the stewardship conference in Wichita and one of the speakers made me think about how I pray. Instead of prayer in which we tell God what we need or want, how, when, why, etc., we should instead ask God to guide our thoughts, words and actions according to His plan, not ours. He suggested that if we did, in fact, devote 10 minutes each day to this form of prayer that our lives would truly be changed in a very beneficial way.

We must also be concerned about our physical and emotional needs and take the necessary steps to be as healthy physically and emotionally as possible. I’m not talking about wants, but rather needs, the things that are truly necessary for us to be healthy individuals. I’m thinking about exercise, eating right, taking care of our bodies by avoiding the many harmful addictions that exist in our world today. Do we exercise on a regular basis, or do we use the excuse that we just don’t have time? Do we spend money eating fast food while on the go all of the time, instead of taking time to eat healthy and just relax for a moment? I know that I often find myself in this situation and this reminder is a good wake up call for me as well. If we are not making time to take care of ourselves, perhaps it’s time to look at our priorities. As good stewards of our own bodies, minds and souls, it is important that we find the proper allocation of time for ourselves and for others.