It's time to breathe.
Go ahead, take a breath. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Sometimes I have to practice this. I have to purposefully breathe.
When my son gets hurt, he often holds his breath. He turns shades of gray and then white and then collaspes into my arms. We practice breathing with him. We gently coach him through the pain. "Breathe, buddy. Remember to breathe. Take a breath. Good job, buddy. Focus on breathing." Now, four years later, he is learning to focus on breathing when he gets hurt. He is remembering to breathe. But there are times when he still needs to be reminded.
I am not unlike him. I need to breathe. I need to step back and refocus. This book thing has been a huge project for me. It's been beauty from ashes. It's been joy in the midst of suffering. It's been a light, an outlet, and a way to grow closer to Jesus. But it can just as easly become overwhelming and consuming. I have to let go. I have to breathe. I need to let God have this thing, because he placed it in my heart in the first place and it belongs to him.
We all have these things. For me in this moment, it's my book. Sometimes it's the house or the kids or finances. But it all comes back to the same thing; what is my focus? What consumes me? I need to breathe. Let go. Let God have these things.
I pray that admist the chaos of life you can remember to breathe in the small moments of beauty. I hope that you allow Jesus to lift the burden that weighs you down.
Because beautiful moments like these are irreplaceable. And I sure don't want to miss them.
You can order my new book, Still {when all else fades away} here