“In the event of an emergency, oxygen masks will fall from the ceiling. Before helping anyone else apply their mask, please, secure your own.”
The odds are, if you’ve ever flown in a plane, you’ve heard this warning. Before taking off, trained flight attendants will explain what to do if something chaotic happens mid-flight, and this involves showing what to do if an oxygen mask is needed.
The first time I heard it, I remember gripping my seat and thinking, “Worst-case scenario, as in, what if the plane crashes and I die?” Meanwhile, when the attendants shared this information, I watched the more experienced flyers settle into their seats, eat snacks, put on headphones, and seemingly ignore the caution.
I have to be honest: The last few times I’ve flown, I also tuned out these instructions, but lately, I’ve been thinking of exactly what I would do if I were on that plane with my husband or son. My instinct will always be to take care of my family before myself whenever possible.
However, a New York Post article further explained why these instructions are essential. It said:
“The air at high altitudes is thin, and oxygen levels very low, so aircraft have clever systems in place to keep cabin pressure at a level equivalent to an altitude of around 1524 to 2438 meters. … This is why in the event of an emergency it is important to fit your oxygen mask first, because by helping others first, or ignoring the mask altogether, a person will begin to lose his or her ability to recognize faces and shapes, and eventually pass out.”
To my surprise, before my husband and I checked out of the hospital as first-time parents, my nurse offered me a similar suggestion, referring to the above-mentioned warning.
“If you don’t take care of yourself, Mama, it’ll be hard to take care of your family,” she explained. “It’s just like those oxygen masks on a plane.”
I inwardly laughed at her words.
“I can do it all,” I thought.
Boy, was I mistaken.
Following a c-section, there was a lot that my body couldn’t do as it had mere days before. Namely, sit down and stand up without excruciating pain. The only worthwhile cure? Rest to recover.
That nurse was right.
Recently, I have learned that these words apply to every aspect of life, not only to recovering from birth or hanging airplane oxygen masks.
As a wife, husband, mother, father, sister, brother, daughter, son, and friend – you name it – it can be easy to feel pressure to ensure that everyone we know and love is cared for. It is an instinct like no other.
But sometimes, if we're not careful, we can exhaust ourselves. And instead of adequately caring for our people, we give each person the remnants of our hearts, minds, and strength.
As the saying goes, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”
The same can be true of our spiritual lives.
In ministry or when it comes to serving our families and those we love, we must commit our hearts and minds to the Lord daily. If we don’t seek His guidance, we can quickly pour from empty spiritual cups. Even scarier, we end up serving in our strength, not His.
In Mark 12:29-30, Jesus reminds us of the first and second most important commandments of all time. It says,
Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Emphasis added.
Note that it says number one is loving the Lord with everything we’ve got – then loving our neighbors and loved ones. If we don’t follow it in this order, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
If we want to care for our family and loved ones in the best way possible, we must first love the Lord our God with all of our heart, mind, and strength. If we choose to serve Him before serving them, we will surely succeed in caring well for our loved ones.
