"Breathe."
I often tell people to just breathe. Their stress is obvious. The thing is . . . the stuff of life collides with busyness and overbooked schedules . . . which opens the door to stress invading life. No one is immune to it, everyone needs room to breathe in order to experience the gift of the day. But. When we're not attentive to slowing down, to pacing ourselves, something will tip us over. It's usually something that's not a big deal, something that's a part of the ordinary stuff of life, something that's nothing but becomes everything, pushing us past the limit of the manageable, leaving us breathless and questioning the point of it all.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:19-21, NIV)
The Spirit has used these words, over and over in my life, reminding me of God's all consuming love.
Learning to Kickstart the day taking a breath,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
I often tell people to just breathe. Their stress is obvious. The thing is . . . the stuff of life collides with busyness and overbooked schedules . . . which opens the door to stress invading life. No one is immune to it, everyone needs room to breathe in order to experience the gift of the day. But. When we're not attentive to slowing down, to pacing ourselves, something will tip us over. It's usually something that's not a big deal, something that's a part of the ordinary stuff of life, something that's nothing but becomes everything, pushing us past the limit of the manageable, leaving us breathless and questioning the point of it all.
So. We need to breathe . . . to be aware of the presence . . . the power . . . and the peace of God. It's a powerful moment when we let go, surrendering all of it, trusting God to be God, living in the midst of the miracle of the day rather than on the edge.Consider what Jeremiah wrote in the book of Lamentations, a story of high stress in the midst of devastation and hopelessness:
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:19-21, NIV)
The Spirit has used these words, over and over in my life, reminding me of God's all consuming love.
I imagine Jeremiah to be speaking the words of Lamentations 3:19-21, loudly reminding the world to stop and breathe, to refuse to let the stuff of life to be all-consuming, to intentionally wake up each day to God's great love, to trust this great love to be fresh and new every morning. These words capture the gift offered to us each day. It makes me wonder how often I've wasted this gift on stuff that doesn't matter.So.
- Stop. Stop right now.
- Breathe. Take another breath.
- Intentionally become aware of God's great love surrounding and invading you.
- Take note of the gift throughout the day.
- Tell God "thank-you" with enthusiasm and genuine gratefulness.
- Celebrate the gift of each day.
Learning to Kickstart the day taking a breath,
Kerrie
(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)