A Note from Jessie – Covenant Newsletter, March 2019

“Breathe and Be Your Best”

This was the motto my family created before embarking on our first trip to Disney World last week. In addition to the planning and packing that such a venture mandates, we prepared for this milestone vacation with setting our expectations. We hoped there would be a plethora of spectacular moments, but we were realistic enough to  expect challenging moments, as well, when we would need to take deep breaths and recenter.

Crowds? Breathe. Long lines? Breathe and Be. Children not eating their $10 hotdogs? Breathe and Be Your Best.

But do you know what was truly amazing? Our motto . . . worked?! In the midst of the crowds and lines and sugar crashes, we held each other accountable to lean into our pledge, together.

It is funny looking back because Steele and I came up with that motto mainly with our 5 year old and 7 year old in mind, thinking they would be the ones who needed the most coaching after fatigue and overstimulation swept through their little bodies. And honestly, there were times when we certainly needed to remind them to use a kinder tone of voice or be more patient or please for the love stop swinging on the rope divider while waiting for Space Mountain. But the commitment to breathing and being our best encouraged us as parents far more than we anticipated. It is astounding how quickly we point out the misbehavior in others (especially in our little ones) when really we are the ones in most dire need of attitude adjustments.

So there we were. For four days, Steele and I committed to breathing in all of the magic that swirled around in our star-struck children’s eyes, and we followed through with breathing out all of our selfish motivations, petty annoyances, and stubborn desires for control. And miraculously, in the absence of our own egocentrism, unbridled joy rose right to the surface. Gratitude blossomed in our hearts. Our minds opened to wonder, our bodies felt free to dance in the present moment with the street performers and our carefree children.

A week later, we are still riding on a high from our special time together, and I already know that I will be peeking back into that treasure trove of precious memories for years to come. And it makes me ponder what it would be like if I held myself to this high standard of patience in my everyday life. What if I did not reserve my most gracious self for special events but continued doling out grace in bucket-loads to those around me? What if I took a breath of prayer before reacting out of annoyance? What if I looked first to my own plank before trying to remove another’s, and in that way led by a more humble example? Perhaps I would be on step closer to the approach the apostle outlines in 1 Peter 5:2-3:

Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.

An image of my children happily dancing alongside Peter Pan’s Lost Boys in the midday Disney parade comes back to my mind now. “We’re following the leader, the leader, the leader” they all sang together.

It begs the question . . . for the flock God has gifted us in this life, what kind of leaders do we want to breathe and be?

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