Breath as a Battle Cry

This morning I was contemplating some of the current pressures I’ve been noticing:

• Coming out of this shutdown with personal and business finances intact
• Trying to make good decisions with lasting consequences given insufficient information
• Trying to make the most of this down time – resting, managing school at home, doing something productive, increased family time
• Keeping my family from getting this virus

Each day has new information, but none of it tells us what we really want to know – When do I get my life back?

The lack of control of even the most basic things in our lives is enough to drive anyone crazy. Seriously, the stores have been out of toilet paper for 3 weeks. How can I not provide such a basic necessity for my family?

We have been adjusting and adapting constantly for 2 weeks. No more school for the kids. No church on Sunday. Online grocery ordering. Work from home. Cancelled appointments. Homeschooling. Layoffs. And there are likely more changes to come.

I feel like I’ve been rolling with the punches fairly well. I am adaptable. I was raised by resourceful parents. I can figure this out. If not for myself, I need to do it for my family. With everything else changing in the world, they could use me holding things together.

But friends, I have to tell you – I am growing weary. It’s not as if COVID-19 is the only thing going on in my life. I had challenges before this fiasco started that have not gone away. And there are new challenges up the road that I can predict but have no power to stop.

I feel as if I have been bracing myself – muscles tense, breath held, mind on alert – for whatever might come. For weeks.  Dear friends, I am starting to suspect that we were not designed to hold our breath for this long.

Would anyone like to join me in a collective deep breath? I’ve also heard it called a “deep cleansing breath.” Yup – that’s what I need. Breathe in. Hold it. Breathe out.

It’s interesting now that I think about it – this virus has attacked our lungs even before we have come into direct contact with it. Maybe we can fight it by intentionally breathing.

Maybe every breath we take can be a battle cry against this enemy: Not today! You cannot take my breath today.

Much has been removed from our lives recently, and there is so little we can control. Even now, thousands of Americans are struggling to fill their lungs due to this insipid virus. Each breath we take is a gift that I don’t usually consider.

Today I thank the Lord for the ability to breathe. I ask for his Breath of Life to flood each of us as he removes all pressure, illness, and fear. May he reveal himself as faithful in all he does. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Kelvin Valerio from Pexels.