Guard Your Heart, Parents

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A Challenge for parents:

Even while you are busy caring for your children, make sure you are taking care of your needs, too! Make a list of stressors and stress relievers, and incorporate a reliever or two into your day.

When you fly on an airplane, the flight attendant announces that if the oxygen masks drop down, caregivers should put on their own mask first, and then help the children. In this situation, as in all of life, both the child and the adult need care.

Children have many needs that must be met. To have the energy to meet those needs, parents have to make sure their own basic needs are also met.

Putting your oxygen mask on means taking care of yourself. For caregivers, this is an important metaphor.

Those who spend a great deal of their time taking care of others can easily become depleted.

The Bible tells us to “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.” That’s Proverbs 4:23 in the New Living Translation.

Here’s the same verse in The Voice: “Above all else, watch over your heart; diligently guard it because from a sincere and pure heart come the good and noble things of life.”

Caregivers need to guard their own hearts or, in other words, replenish their own energy and reserves to be able to continue caring for others.  Self-care includes taking care of oneself by providing many of the same things that parents provide for their children.

For every parent, simple things like getting enough sleep and healthy eating are necessary, but all too easily neglected. Of course, parents have other needs, too.

The key to self-care is to develop a balanced life based on personal priorities. Top priority is caring for one’s children with a goal of nurturing and preparing them for life.

After that, each person can intentionally think about the other important life priorities.

The next step might be to consider what can be done to be sure those priorities become part of one’s lifestyle. The list will be different for each individual but will generally include items from these categories: spiritual, emotional, social, intellectual, and creative/artistic.

When day-to-day activities and the necessities of life become wearisome and even overwhelming, it can be helpful to make a list of stressors. Along with the major stressors of life, list those little things that might just be the last straw.

Being aware of personal limits is important for self-care. Consider writing down two or three things that are stressful. Then think about each one and write down a single action-step that may help relieve it.

Also make a list of stress relievers. The list can include hopes for major life dreams and experiences.

Perhaps even more important is to list those little things that help one get through the day with a smile. Think about how to include one or two of those stress relievers in the daily schedule.

As the scripture says, “Guard your heart” or, in other words, watch over your innermost being. As you are busy caring for your loved ones every day, also remember to nourish yourself. Be kind to yourself and remember you gotta’ nourish to flourish!

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Check out our video on the Guard Pillar.

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