Put Your Mask On FIRST

YIKES…not that mask! HA!!

There is something a flight attendant says every single time a plane is getting ready to take off. You've maybe heard it so many times you probably don't even listen anymore. The doors close. The safety demonstration begins. Seat belts. Emergency exits. Life jackets.

And then comes the reminder: If the cabin loses pressure, oxygen masks will drop from above. Put your own mask on first before helping those around you. Your own mask. FIRST.

I've heard those words countless times. But recently, I heard them differently. Because isn't this exactly what we need to remember as teachers? We are constantly putting masks on other people. We help the student who is struggling. We calm the child who is overwhelmed. We reteach the lesson. We answer the email. We solve the problem. We comfort. We encourage. We listen. We notice. We carry. There is always someone who needs something from us.

And somewhere along the way, we can begin to believe that putting our own mask on first is selfish. It isn't. The flight attendant isn't telling you to put your mask on first because you are more important than the people around you. They are telling you to put your mask on first so that you remain able to help them.

Read that again. Put the mask on yourself first SO THAT you can remain able to help others.

Wow. Now, I know the word mask carries a little baggage these days. For many of us, it takes us right back to a season we won't soon forget. A time when masks meant something entirely different. But that's not the mask I'm talking about. This mask gives life. This mask gives you the air you need to keep doing what you get to do every day. This mask gives you the strength to sit beside the child who is having a hard day. It gives you the perseverance to try the lesson one more time when it isn't going the way you planned. It gives you the patience to respond instead of react. It gives you the energy to make it through the afternoon when your tank is already running low. It gives you the courage to answer the email that made your heart hurt. It gives you the hope to believe that tomorrow can be different. It gives you the joy to notice the little things. It gives you the peace to remember that you were never meant to carry all of this alone.

The mask gives you what you need to keep breathing while you help others breathe. So, teacher… Are you putting your mask on first? Not once. Not when you finally have time. Not after everyone else has what they need. But, First. 

What does that actually look like for a teacher these days?

Maybe it looks like going to bed instead of answering one more email. Maybe it means drinking the water sitting beside your computer. Maybe it means stepping outside for five minutes. Maybe it means saying, "I can't take that on right now.” Maybe it means asking for help. Maybe it means protecting a quiet moment before the day begins. Maybe it means opening your Bible before opening your inbox. Maybe it means praying in the parking lot. Maybe it means laughing with someone who makes your soul lighter. Maybe it means remembering that your worth was never determined by how much you accomplished today. Maybe it means sitting still long enough to notice what your soul is trying to tell you.

And maybe… putting your mask on first means remembering whose breath gives you life in the first place.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." ~ Matthew 11:28

He doesn't say, Come to me when everyone else is taken care of. He says, Come. Come weary. Come burdened. Come before you have it all figured out. Come before you have one more thing to give. Come and breathe. Because the goal isn't to become a teacher who never gets tired, never gets overwhelmed, or never needs anything. The goal is to become a teacher who knows where to go when the oxygen starts getting thin.

So before you take off into another day of teaching… Put your mask on. Breathe deeply. Receive what you need. And then go lead with love. Not because you have an endless supply to give… but because you have learned where to return when you need to be filled again.

Put the mask on yourself first SO THAT you can remain able to help others.

Have the BEST week!

Maria