Day 3.... Breathe

The stunned silence that I felt so often in those early days taught me to breathe.  Yes, basic, everyday, ordinary, breath.  I often had to remind myself that I needed to take a breath.  Take a slow breath before I asked hard questions.  Breathe when I didn't know what else to do.  Breathe when I thought everything was going to overwhelm me.  Just breathe.  One breath at a time.

I wanted her to breathe too.  Just like most parents of newborns I wanted to make sure she was breathing.  I had to fight the urge to watch.  I had to realize that only God could give her breath.  I wanted a promise, a guarantee, a something, that she would continue to breath.  There were no promises like that.  As I would breathe and wish for her to breathe, God's word often came to mind.

Psalm 150:6  "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord."  (NIV)

Yep, there it was, my next instruction.  I was suppose to praise the Lord, even when I didn't feel like it.  Sometimes I only praised Him with a half heart.  Sometimes I could praise Him with facts, truths.  Sometimes I really couldn't.  After all, I didn't know what was going to happen next.  The truth is, I still don't.  I do feel as though I can glance a little farther down the road than I ever allowed myself to in those days.  I still choose to turn these basic every day breaths into praise because He is still good.

Ok, so how is this a stop on this journey?  I have gotten better at just breathing.  Even when things are difficult one of my first responses is to just breathe.  The amazing thing is when I do breathe, I can often see little gifts God has left along the way.  Maybe it is the beauty of a sunrise over the pond across the street.  Maybe it is the song on the radio.  Maybe it is an opportunity to count the many blessings He has left for me that my stress and concern cause me to forget.

The song "Breathe" by Michael W. Smith is a sweet song that helps me to walk through the idea of taking one breath at a time and turning my breath into praise to the Lord.  One breath at a time God is changing me.  He is working through me.  I may not know exactly where this journey is going to take me but I do know that when I let Him work through me amazing things happen.