Breathing Deeply

"The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." – Job 33:4

For the past week, it has been difficult for my four-year-old to breathe due to a virus. We only leave the house for short jaunts, since we can’t miss her scheduled treatments with a nebulizer. The medication she breathes in causes her to swing wildly from sleepy to hyperactive with only a moment’s notice. Thankfully, she has progressed to the point of being able to sleep through the night without the interruption of a treatment.

This experience has me focused not only on my daughter’s breathing, but also on the gift of breath itself. It is such a fragile thing – so easy to break, or stop altogether. Yet God blesses us each day with the exact number of breaths we need. He lets me breathe in life, fully and deeply. He blesses me with nostrils filled with fresh, clean, restorative air the morning after a rainstorm. The scent of home fills my heart and lungs when I breathe in the aromas of the kitchen. I breathe in thankfulness for each puff my daughter takes, as we sit together in the cloud of steroids steaming from her nebulizer, grateful for doctors and medications and God’s grace that will eventually restore her ability to move fresh air through her little lungs. And I am so blessed to feel His presence covering my family during this scary ordeal.

Sometimes I notice I am short of breath because I run around from one task to the next, never taking a break. Sometimes stress feels like a weight on my chest and I can’t quite seem to fill my lungs the way I’d like to. And other times I hear God telling me to be still and know He is God, and I am blessed with a glorious, calming, refreshingly deep breath. Are you breathing deeply today? Tell us about it!