Sweet little ol’ couple they were…. sitting at their kitchen table… chatting with me. Such loving, welcoming looks were coming my way … but not so much to each other!
Some of the most priceless moments for me as a home care nurse were waiting for me as I arrived for my visit. Couples would often have arguments prior to my arrival. Then … they would wait for me to get there to settle it!
This precious little wife was just really angry at her husband and jumped right in to let me know. Her deep love for him was hidden at that moment, under a heavy covering of verbal care.
Looking daggers at him across the table, she threw out at me… “He sometimes takes his breathing treatments before he’s supposed to. He’s just not reasonable!” Poor hubby … All he wanted to do was breathe.
Sensing a teachable moment, I asked sweet wife to place her hand over her mouth so that she couldn’t breathe. I told her just to leave it there for awhile and then to see how “reasonable” she felt. Without having to carry out the experiment, she just nodded. There was no more discussion between them about the treatments during our visit! For those of you in the medical field, yes, I did talk to him about letting the doctor know if it was an ongoing problem!
All he wanted to do was breathe. Just breathe.
Have you had a moment where you’ve physically had the wind knocked out of you … and you just can’t breathe? I remember this happening to me as a child … and it’s terrifying. If I remember correctly, I fell out of something that I was climbing on, like a tree or an outdoor playset… and landed on my stomach. The next breath just wouldn’t come.
But … have you had a moment … a telephone call … test results … an email … a knock at the door … a message from your boss … papers handed to you with the words “you’ve been served” … a bill in the mail … a notice taped to your door … a letter from a lawyer … a text … a whispered diagnosis … that took your breath away?
All you wanted to do was breathe. And it seemed like your next breath wouldn’t come.
Many years ago … on a gorgeously new, sunlit earth … God created the first man from the dust of the ground. And then, He “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7) Imagine your first breath being the very breath of God! How incredibly pure. His body had just been formed by the hand of God. What could possibly go wrong? Within a very short time period, Adam experienced loss that would definitely have taken my breath away. He lost status, his first home, his dream of having a happy family and he lost his son.
I, too … have been the recipient of news that made it very difficult to breathe. Many of us have had those moments. Heavy, excruciating, pounding, heart-shredding moments…. where our lungs scream for air and our hearts scream for answers. Within seconds of learning “what” our brains are yelling “why?” Often… later… our tired minds call out for justice. And sometimes… in the peak of the pain…. we literally scream out at God, while gasping for air.
And once again … there He is … faithful and true … helping us breathe.
Thousands of years ago, an incredible prophet named Isaiah, prayed on behalf of God’s people. As he prayed, he reminisced about their tough times and oppression. He reminded God of things that He already knew! (Yes… I do that, too!)
He prayed… “Lord, they came to you in their distress, when you disciplined them, they could barely whisper a prayer.” Isaiah 26:16
Is this you right now? Are you finding it impossible to form a complete thought in prayer? Do your words and pain and anger and fear and frustration and helplessness all get tangled, leaving you in a heap of breathless silence?
Come to Him anyway. He has promised us … “Before they call I will answer.” Isaiah 65:24 He’s got you. When you can barely whisper, He gives you strength to just breathe.
Reach out your hand, and pick up your Bible. Open it up, as you whisper your prayer…. and then listen. “All Scripture is God-breathed…” 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture … pure truth.
And then … just breathe.