You Can Thrive ~ Your Body Belongs to God!

 I feel sorry for flight attendants. They stand in the aisles holding a seat belt or oxygen mask asking for a few minutes of our undivided attention. Most of us who fly regularly ignore this routine announcement preferring to bury ourselves in a magazine or book, shut our eyes hoping to nap, or fiddle with the movie channel.I know that every piece of advice from a flight attendant is invaluable in an emergency. Yet somehow I assume they’ll get time to repeat it when we’re really facing a crisis—which is when we’re all shrieking, “Tell us what to do!”However, there is one piece of advice that most flyers do know by heart. When the oxygen mask drops from above your head, take care of yourself first!When I first heard this, it struck me as totally self-centered. After all, shouldn’t I help everyone else first, especially if I’m travelling with my kids (even if they are adults)? Or attend to people older than myself sitting nearby?  Yes, of course I should. Except that if I’m gasping for air and passing out through lack of oxygen, soon others will be taking care of me.This same principle applies to our lives. If we don’t pay attention to some of the elements that sustain a healthy, growing, balanced life, we won’t thrive.  And others might have to take care of us instead of us caring for them.

Thriving Doesn’t Just Happen

Given the constant pressures we all face: keeping spiritually in tune with God, juggling jobs, finances, family responsibilities, staying connected to friends, and maintaining our sanity at the same time, it’s easy to ignore some key essentials that help us thrive at every stage of our lives. But whatever it is that we desire to experience or become in life, it depends to a large degree on how we take care of ourselves. In particular, how we take care of our physical body.In addition to understanding the importance of caring for our body, however, we need to:

• Recognize our need to stay mentally sharp (to combat the aging brain!)
• Be aware of what’s going on in us emotionally (to avoid stress and burn out) and,
• Cultivate sensitivity to where we are spiritually (to stay in love with the Lord).

Paying attention to these basic aspects of thriving is like putting an oxygen mask on our inner life—and the reward is fresh energy to make our lives count.Because every aspect of our life is impacted by the body we inhabit, I’ll share some Scriptures with you next time that show why we should pay it serious attention.What motivates you to honor the one body God has given you? I’d love to know!Blessings,Poppy SmithInternational speaker, multi-published author, Bible teacher, and spiritual coachInspiring Women to Thrive! Permission to use this article is granted provided the following credit is fully included.Poppy Smith is funny, warm, and passionate about helping women grow spiritually and personally so they experience the love and power of Christ in life’s ups and downs. A former teaching leader with Bible Study Fellowship, Poppy has a Masters in Spiritual Formation and ministers extensively as a retreat and conference speaker both in the US and around the world. For more information about Poppy’s heart, her books and ministry, please visit her website at www.poppysmith.com.The above graphic was purchased from Dreamstime and is used with permission © Andreykr | Dreamstime.com