It happened when I realized I felt short of breath after sitting down all day.
It had been a day of training for new responsibilities, while at the same time reconstructing some personal paperwork I had lost, plus taking snippets of time here and there to work on wedding organizational details. Days like this are normal for me, but I had a million and five other things going through my head relating to so much that's happening "behind the scenes" that when I closed my computer at 8pm, stood up, and gulped in a big lungful of air, I realized I couldn't remember the last time I had really taken an actual breath.
Had it been a few minutes ago or not since that morning? I had no clue! But I did realize that I'd forgotten to breathe.
When I hit times like the present - times spilling over with fullness of not only work and job transitions but also living transitions and planning a wedding (wait! my wedding! yippee!) - I naturally give in to the tendency to become a workaholic and consumed with all the tasks in front of me while forgetting to do little things like eat a decent meal, sleep a decent night's sleep, and...breathe...
...deeply breathe.
Miguel told me the other day as we were driving home from our last pre-marital counseling session, "You're really tense. You need to relax." We were in the middle of discussing work/responsibility/roles/life/ministry transitions and even though he's seen me go through a lot of ups and downs, stress and worry, and has had to deal with several melt-downs in the last year, he told me something he hadn't said before, "You've been pretty impatient recently. Breathe, Rose. You need to just breathe."
I've been reading the book of Daniel.
Wait, what does that have to do with breathing, you ask?
While not much may be written in the book of Daniel about the inhale/exhale process our lungs require, I've been constantly scribbling notes at every turn of the page on how utterly, unfathomably all-powerful God is and how He proves it in these pages. Daniel's complete, all-consuming dedication to the one, true God makes me sit there speechless - and I'm only a few chapters in.
The one common factor I find before any grand interpretation Daniel gives a king is the time he takes beforehand to pray. He pauses. He is quiet. He asks for time. Later on (because I know how the story goes) we find out that it's a habit for him to take time to pray three times a day.
Time to breathe.
When I open my curtain in the morning and sit on my carpet, it's all too easy to allow my mind to wander to everything on my schedule for the day. I catch myself doing it, then try to tune into hearing what God is saying again - only to find myself making a mental note to write so and so an email, then call that person, then...and I decide I don't have time to sit there much longer.
Praying is like breathing. Or at least it should be.
"Pray without ceasing" means we are in constant communication with our Father, just like our lungs are constantly breathing air, even when we don't think about it. Then there are those times that we take an extra deep breath to fill our lungs and stretch our arms or neck and shoulders, just like we should be pausing to check in more with our Father who probably has a lot to tell us by then. And just like those times when we crawl between the crisp, clean sheets of our comfortable beds after a long day and allow the sweetness of rest to deepen our breathing, there are times - regular, habitual times -that sitting hand-in-hand in the presence of God brings the sweet rejuvenation and recharge our tired souls need that nothing else can come close to.
So breathe, my soul, breathe.
 |
| Rearview Mirror |
Had it been a few minutes ago or not since that morning? I had no clue! But I did realize that I'd forgotten to breathe.
When I hit times like the present - times spilling over with fullness of not only work and job transitions but also living transitions and planning a wedding (wait! my wedding! yippee!) - I naturally give in to the tendency to become a workaholic and consumed with all the tasks in front of me while forgetting to do little things like eat a decent meal, sleep a decent night's sleep, and...breathe...
...deeply breathe.
 |
| Roll with It |
I've been reading the book of Daniel.
 |
| One Mr. and Mrs. Coming Up |
While not much may be written in the book of Daniel about the inhale/exhale process our lungs require, I've been constantly scribbling notes at every turn of the page on how utterly, unfathomably all-powerful God is and how He proves it in these pages. Daniel's complete, all-consuming dedication to the one, true God makes me sit there speechless - and I'm only a few chapters in.
The one common factor I find before any grand interpretation Daniel gives a king is the time he takes beforehand to pray. He pauses. He is quiet. He asks for time. Later on (because I know how the story goes) we find out that it's a habit for him to take time to pray three times a day.
Time to breathe.
When I open my curtain in the morning and sit on my carpet, it's all too easy to allow my mind to wander to everything on my schedule for the day. I catch myself doing it, then try to tune into hearing what God is saying again - only to find myself making a mental note to write so and so an email, then call that person, then...and I decide I don't have time to sit there much longer.
 |
| Breathe, My Soul |
Praying is like breathing. Or at least it should be.
"Pray without ceasing" means we are in constant communication with our Father, just like our lungs are constantly breathing air, even when we don't think about it. Then there are those times that we take an extra deep breath to fill our lungs and stretch our arms or neck and shoulders, just like we should be pausing to check in more with our Father who probably has a lot to tell us by then. And just like those times when we crawl between the crisp, clean sheets of our comfortable beds after a long day and allow the sweetness of rest to deepen our breathing, there are times - regular, habitual times -that sitting hand-in-hand in the presence of God brings the sweet rejuvenation and recharge our tired souls need that nothing else can come close to.
So breathe, my soul, breathe.
