LEAven Blog

The body has always intrigued people. It has so many parts and functions for scientists and doctors to explore. Some interesting facts about it include:

• Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.
• Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails.
• The human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet.
• Feet have 500,000 sweat glands and can produce more than a pint of sweat a day.
• If saliva cannot dissolve something, you cannot taste it.

Chances are if given the opportunity, your students would be able to tell you many more incredible and complex facts and theories about the human body. They tend to be fascinated with books and TV shows explaining the body and its functions. While much is known about the body, much is still left to be discovered, and one thing is sure—God created a beautiful and wondrous piece of art when He created the body.

You know that if one part of the body is not working correctly, it can wreak havoc on the rest of the body. An example would be lack of sleep. Without the proper amount of sleep, you can develop headaches, depression, muscle pains, dizziness, irritability, memory loss, and weight gain, among other problems. So, taking care of your body should be one of your top priorities. Eating healthy foods, exercising, taking time for yourself, and getting a good night’s rest are all important. At the same time, you should also take care of your spiritual health.

During a typical school year, there is much on the plate of a teacher. Nevermind actually teaching a lesson (or 400), you are responsible for lesson plans, lunch duty, writing curriculum guides, before and after school supervision, coaching, directing plays and musicals, detention duty, parent-teacher conferences, keeping current with technological changes, faculty meetings….the list goes on and on. But this cannot become the priority in your life. The students and the proclamation of the Gospel are the most important part of your ministry, and in your personal life, taking time for a relationship with your Lord is the most important part of your life, for if you aren’t spiritually healthy, you can’t be the best teacher God wants you to be. Being in the Word through devotions, having a solid prayer life, and attending church must be priorities. Being a Lutheran teacher, you know this, but do you always practice it? Are you actually listening to what is being said in Bible study and church, or do you find yourself wondering how to tell Jimmy’s mom that he isn’t behaving in class and how to tell Suzie’s mom that she is struggling in math class?

As part of your ministry, you teach your little ones about Jesus. You emphasize to them the need to know Jesus as their personal Savior. It is probably your favorite lesson of the day to teach (and it should be!) You explain to them what it means to be part of the body of Christ, and your students listen intently because they love to learn about Jesus and what the Bible says.  Your ministry is to help them learn academic facts AND a love of the Lord. This is your role in the body of Christ. “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4: 11-13) But this role can’t be done to its fullest potential unless you care for yourself. Only then can you truly minister to your students and their families.

This week is Valentine’s Day— a time when we show love to others. Show that love to your students and yourself by paying attention to yourself spiritually, physically, and emotionally. It’s what’s best for your body.