Breathe

Lately, I’ve had issues breathing. I feel as if there is a weight on my chest weighing me down. When I cast my glance to the ground, it is a huge effort to take in air. (Yes, I have a doctor’s appointment!) My point in sharing this with you is this. When I look up, it becomes much easier to breath and my breaths become deeper filling my lungs with much needed oxygen.

How often when we are in despair or hurting, when we are depressed or lonely, do we look down? Pay attention. Does your head droop? Do your shoulders slump? Do you slouch while sitting? Are you looking down towards the ground?

Next time you feel this way, look upwards – towards the sky. Just the act of looking up will cause you to fill your lungs with more air and in doing so cause your shoulders to go back slightly. As you breathe out, let the pain, the stress, whatever it is that has you down, flow out with a long exhale. Continue to breathe deeply looking upwards.

Will this make your problems go away? Of course not. It will, however, give you strength. It will give you a sense of calm. And as you look upwards, to the heavens, know all is as it should be. It may not be as we want, as we believe we need it to be, as we hope it will be. We cannot see the big picture. We can not see the future. We cannot see how our circumstances play out in our future or how what happens to us affects the future of those around us. We don’t live in isolation. We live in community. Our circumstance, our actions, and what befalls us, good or bad, does affect others. Maybe not at this moment, maybe not next week, maybe not even a year from now. Maybe the impact is simply hidden from our view. Regardless, that we are in control is an illusion.

No matter the battles in our daily lives, here on this earth, the good news is that we know how the story turns out – how it ends. We already know God wins. When you grow weary, look up. Breathe deep and trust in the Lord.

Just for today, look up and breathe when things have you down and know God’s got this!

“For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”
— Benjamin Franklin

– PSG –