Parenting is Like an Airline Emergency

Dr. Kevin Leman once told me that parenting is like an airline emergency. Before takeoff, every plane passenger is instructed that if the oxygen masks come down, parents should put on their own masks first before attending to their kids.

Why? Because in an emergency, kids need their parents to be able to think clearly and act effectively. If we don’t take in oxygen, our thinking will grow fuzzy, and then our kids—dependent on us to get it right—will ultimately suffer.

What’s true in the air physically is equally true on the ground spiritually. If we neglect our own “spiritual oxygen”—our walk with God—our motivations will become polluted. Our ability to discern, empathize, encourage, and confront will waste away. We must see parenting as a process through which God purifies us—the parents—even as he shapes our children.