Breathe.

Today was a beautiful day.  There is no snow on the ground in IL.  Yet.  (Sorry Minnesota friends.)  And so, my lovely wheelchair can cart me pretty much anywhere.  My dad works, literally, across the street from my house, and (as he is the designated ramp engineer & operator) he was able to take me for a walk.  It's funny because I'm really getting to know my dogs in a more intimate way.  I'm, like, right at their level.  I felt kind of like a pet, but in a good way.  The sun shone down so brightly this afternoon - I felt my Vitamin D levels bouncin' back.  My friend, who came over tonight, said I even got a tan.  ; )  In my dreams.  She just came back from Florida.  Too bad being tan isn't contagious.

I was thinking this afternoon about how blessed I am to be able to go out and enjoy the sun, and the fresh air.  To be able to see everything around me, and to hear what's going on.  All of my senses are intact, and to me, it's a miracle.  Breathing is something that I highly value as an asthmatic, and because I haven't had any wheat or milk for two and half weeks (a personal record), I can breathe very well!  The air smelled so sweet, I couldn't even believe it.  It felt like I was drinking in invisible Dr. Pepper.

I once heard that the average person breathes in and out 12 times per minute.  And that's when they are relaxed.  Crazy-loopy-awesome breathing specialists say that you should be breathing about 6 times per minute.  And, if you watch babies, they instinctively know how to breathe - from the diaphram.  You'll see their stomachs rise up and down, up and down.  Adults usually breathe using the upper parts of their chest.  We don't naturally breathe from the gut anymore; we actually forget how to breathe.  If you breathe 6 times per minute instead of the average 12, some people say that you can decrease your stress level & blood pressure, focus the mind, and release endorphins.  Everyone likes endorphins. 

There is this guy named Rob Bell (some people are on board with the things he believes, and some aren't, but just stick with me.)  He has this video series called, "Nooma"  (another word for the Holy Spirit, I believe, but spelled incorrectly.)  Anyway, the only video in the entire series that I can remember (and I've seen a lot of them, mostly in college) is the one called "Breathe" or "Air" or something like that.  It had to do with oxygen.  You get the idea.

I remember Rob talking about the idea that we worship God with every single breath that we take.  Apparently, the origin of the word "Yahweh" is a vocalization of a breath-like sound.  Yahweh is what God's people would say when they wanted to refer to God without saying...well...God.  It was an extremely sacred and intimate sound for him...so close to his people that it was in their very breath.  This video made such an impression on me because there truly are so many different ways to worship God.  Breathing.  Breathing deep.  Stepping outside and seeing something beautiful no matter the circumstances.  Holding the hand of someone who needs to feel held.  Having compassion on others around you.  Studying scripture together, and applying it to our lives.  Dancing in the rain, or going for long walks on the beach & smiling because you know and trust that it was He who orchestrated it all.  Worshipping God is bringing honor and glory to him.  Giving him the credit.

Every single breath; I give you credit.

Job 32:8 says, "But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding."  It actually isn't Job speaking, but Elihu, a young man who is frustrated with some friends of Job.  The story of Job is incredibly long and painful, but Elihu speaks truth and hope into the life of this man.  He says that the breath of the Almighty is in a person, and it's what gives them understanding.  The fact that something in your mind can come from something in your lungs is pretty crazy.  And it's even crazier that the breath of GOD is entering your body as you read these words.  At first, it actually kind of makes me uncomfortable.  There haven't been many instances in my life where someone elses breath has entered my lungs.  I can remember playing a game where you had to pass Lifesavers down a line using toothpicks in your mouths - I hated it.  I could feel someone elses breath, and I breathed it in!  It's kind of a big deal that the breath of the Creator of the Universe is entering my lungs right now.  And now.  And now. 

Pretty crazy.

God, I ask that you would continue to breathe life into these lungs of mine.  I long to worship you with every breath that I have; help me not to take them for granted.  I acknowledge that you breathed life into my lungs when I took my very first breath, and I thank you that I can still breathe deep, resting in the knowledge of the fact that you see me.  You understand me, and you give me understanding.  You know me, more intimately than anyone can know me.  Even myself.  Even though my lungs are weak, I thank you that they are filled with your grace, your love, your patience, your freedom, and your hope.  I find these things only in you, and they taste so sweet.  You are so good to me.  Yahweh.