Like a Breath of Fresh Air
Inhale…exhale… Wow, that felt great! One more time—inhale… exhale… Sweet! It’s amazing how a simple breath of fresh air can cleanse, rejuvenate, calm and give life to your mind, body and soul. With every breath of air we remove carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen to give us just one more second to experience life. The same life that can have as many twist and turns as a wild river.
I’ll admit, lately my river has been more like a raging, category 5 white rapid. For months I felt like I was off course; like I’ve seen this landscape before or simply put, lost. Somewhere down my river or path, I took a detour or what I thought would be a short-cut. It didn’t take long to realize I was off the route that was channeled for me before the beginning of time. It’s funny how we try to create our own passageways rather than stay on the one that was meticulously hollowed out for us.
When the river is fierce, it can feel like I am being tossed from problem to problem and from mistakes to a collapse of disappointments. All the while a silent killer current with toxic sediments of pity, hurt, discontentment, guilt, pride, shame, unforgiveness, depression, whatever it may be, begins to suck me underwater taking the air right out of me. The same air I spoke about in the opening is now under attack. How do we break free? How do we gain control, find our path and breathe again? We seek God. We search for Him and listen for His voice amongst all the splashing of problems. He’s there for us who believe in Him and He is able to loosen the currents that bring us down and ultimately under a rock.
Christ can bring stillness to our raging waters in an instant. Mark 4:39 says, “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” The waters will calm and that current will loosen its death-grip and spit us out into our Father’s hands, if, we put our faith and trust in Him.
I also learned to spot God in my situation(s) and grab hold to his arm. There is strength in God’s love and Word. Please, never believe God is not with you. That is the enemy, a sneaky current that doesn’t want to see you travel down a river of righteousness, happiness and peace. It doesn’t want you to breathe in God’s blessings for your life. Instead it wants you to inhale the toxins that were lying on its riverbed. But God is there, even in the midst of your struggles.
If you are like me and felt a little off course, ask God to show you where you took the short-cut. Look for His hand stretch out, grab hold of Jesus’ arm and allow Him to pull you up stream or back on the path God created for you.
Inhale…exhale. Lift your head, open your eyes, focus, gain control and breathe.
“They will hear of your great name and your strong hand and your outstretched arm.” 1 Kings 8:42
Alvie Hairston is a 33-year old SAHM of three, former blogger of MommiesGoodies (relaunching soon) and Creative Director at VeilaBlue Creative. Curiosity in faith, pop culture, food, relationships, fashion and self-restoration keeps her head in the clouds.