Take a deep breath. Four little words that play through our minds when we feel like things are spiraling out of control, when we feel like we are losing our grip, when the unexpected just took control over our day; take a deep breath. Go ahead, breathe in deep. Now, let it out. Do it again and again until you feel the calm sweep back over you. Your heart rate steadies, your blood pressure comes down, and you can focus on what truly matters. Today is the last day of the year. The hope of something new is just on the horizon. We set goals for the new year based on our past failures. We might set a few that we spring board off of from our successes as well. It's our human nature to feel alive and ready as we watch the clock tick towards a completely new year, with new hope. In a way, on this last day we are taking a long deep breath and letting out a hard sigh; much like we do after a good cry. Everything is going to be okay. There's a new year ahead of us. New possibilities and new chances to make everything wrong right are within our reach. Close your eyes and listen to the sound of your breath going in deep. Focus on the sound as the air your breath passes your lips. Yah-Weh. Do you year it? Yahweh. It is believed that the name of God, Yahweh is pronounced YHWH. With vowels removed it its simply pronounced as the air you breathe in and the air you breathe out. Take a deep breath, let it out. The real Name is beyond our pronunciation and when we try to pronounce YHWH by the sounds of the syllabus only, it simply results as a breath. How very gentle. Genesis 2:17 describes for us God breathing life into Adam. It is the "Breath of Life", very intimate and transcendent all at the same time. Without it we are dead. (1 Kings 17;17). I was sitting in church after a powerful worship and when I sat down and became very still I took a deep breath and let it out. then wrote the words, "Take a Deep Breath" in my prayer journal. I looked down at my open Bible and there was a list of names for God. Yahweh was one of them. I had heard before that the word itself is technically unpronounceable and that it is intended to be pronounced without the vowels. I breathed in deep again. Turning to the back of my Bible, I looked up the worth "breath" and wrote down 7 scriptures to look up that contained the word "breath". As I looked them up I jotted down the context in which they were used. It's kind of a rough sketch but this was what I wrote... Gen 2:!7 - God's breath 1 Kings 17:17 - No breath in him (dead) Psalm 144;4 - Man is like a breath Psalm 150:6 - Has breath praise Lord Ez 37:5 - Cause breath to enter (dry bones) Acts 17:25 - He gives life & breath Rev 13:15 - Power to give breath Sometimes I think the Word of God becomes so simple to understand in how it relates to us today, in the moments that we need it most. He is our breath of life. We can also be the breath of life for others. When I think about the air we breathe and how it goes deep within us, oxygenating every cell of our body, providing life, I can't help but think about how the Word of God does the very same thing when we seek it. When we breathe it in and breath it out it changes the atmosphere around us. When we speak a promise from God from His Word, into others, aren't we breathing life into them? "For I know the plans I have for you...." I started saying to my two middle sons. We were having a discussion about asking God for help with as many things in your life as possible. I breathed Jeremiah 29:11 into them. For I know the plans I have for you "declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I breathed this Word in so many times that it has filled me and given me life; and I am now able to breathe it back onto my children. Life giving breath. Just breathing.
It's something we all must do as humans to survive and live. Calling God, experience the "Breath of Life". So, breathe deep and experience a deeper communion with our Lord. It's a great way to start off prayer, just calling on the name of God. By simply... Take a deep breath.
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I'm Aimee, former Early Childhood Educator and Reading Specialist turned author, speaker, blogger, and mom of 5. This website is meant to inspire & equip parents of little ones to promote early literacy & language development at home. You will also find fun crafts, devotionals, and recipes to explore..
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