Today’s devotional in UR was about remembering to breathe. The lady took care of premature babies and had learned that sometimes, because their brains are not fully developed, they forget to breathe. She would have to just nudge them to get them to do it. Then she related that to spiritual breathing and how we sometimes forget to by neglecting Bible-reading, prayer, church or fellowship and need to be nudged or reminded.
It reminded me of after I’d had gallbladder surgery and how I had trouble waking up from it, so they admitted me (it was supposed to have been outpatient). I was in and out of awakeness and aware when nurses would come in and the things said to me, but was too tired to do much responding. Then a fever set in. I knew enough to know that could mean infection and could even be fatal. I wasn’t scared, though, just concerned for my kids and what would happen to them if I died. Who would take care of them or raise them to know the Lord? So my prayer was for God to let me stick around to finish the most important job I ever had.
The nurse was concerned about the fever and debating whether or not to call the doctor when she had an idea. “Oh, I know!” she blurted out. “You need to breathe!” She determined the lack of oxygen was not only contributing to my excessive sleepiness, but also the fever, I gathered. She told me to take a couple of deep breaths every 10 minutes or so. And for the next hour, that’s what I did. When she came back in to check on me, I was much more awake and the fever was gone! She was excited that her idea worked and I was relieved to be finally waking up.
I asked for a Coke, which was odd, because I never drink regular coke. Only diet pop of any kind. But no, I had to have Coke! She looked at me funny and almost laughed. Here I’d been laid out all day, seemingly on the brink of death. Then I wake up and want a Coke! She brought it and maybe it was the mix of sugar and caffeine, I don’t know. But I started to really perk up and come back to life! But it all started with remembering to breathe.
Like the devotional author, we not only need air for our bodies, but we need spiritual air, too. Time with God in prayer, scripture, church and fellowship. I’ve noticed other things, too, are like air to me – music, namely. If too many days pass that I don’t listen to and/or sing the songs I love, something starts to dry up in me. Maybe it’s more like water than air, which we need also.
There are plenty of other things important to life that get neglected in the busyness of everyday life. Work, errands, chores and bills can occupy a lot of time and brain power. Can suck the life right out of us, right? We have to attend to all those things, but attending to them and letting them overtake your life are two different things.
I need time with my husband. Marriages need nurturing to stay healthy and strong, so as to get through the battles that inevitably come. Right now, more than ever, since he is working days while I work nights. We see each other briefly each morning before he heads out to work and for an hour at dinner before it’s time for my shift. Weekends are all the more important because of so little time during the week.
I need time with the kids. They’re grown up now but two of them live at home, so we need at least some communication, as well as some meals together and laughter. I think we get that.
I need to get out and walk more – for my health, not only physical, but emotional and spiritual also.
And books, oh I need to read them. Usually have 2 or 3 going at the same time and fluctuate between fiction and non-fiction, but all inspire.
Writing of course is a passion and need. If I get away from that, I feel it, and it isn’t always easy to get back into the groove.
And the list could go on – time with parents, grandkids, friends, crocheting, etc. – but the point is we need to pay attention to what makes us tick, not just so we can live as though all of life is just all about ourselves, but in order to live up to who God created us to be, we have to nurture the things He has placed within us. Then we will also be a light and blessing to others, not to mention more pleasing to God.
Jesus taught and did miracles, but he also spent time alone with God in prayer. He also instructed his disciples to “come away to a quiet place to rest”. He also attended a wedding and ate with friends. He slept on a boat and wept over the death of a friend – or was it over others’ lack of faith? I think he must have laughed, too, because Who, after all, created laughter? And Jesus was the image of God. He doesn’t get depicted that way too often, but I’m sure he laughed! And still does. We can get way too serious sometimes.
Once I was depressed over a good many things. It wasn’t just a bad day or week, it was an ongoing situation that had been dragging me down for a long time. I didn’t smile or laugh much anymore – something people noticed enough to tell me – and I cried a lot too. Life felt dark. How did I come out of it? Did I get counseling? Take an anti-depressent? Nope. I watched the Cosby Show!! That and several other sitcoms. I started laughing again. Night after night. My dark turned to light again and the tv-watching served the purpose of distracting me from all the things that depressed me. I just needed to get my mind off my troubles and then laugh!!
I know people who are so very practical and efficient when it comes to responsibilities and I wish I could be more like that – in a way, and to a point. But I also notice that they seem unable to rest, or sleep well at night. They have a hard time just sitting down and relaxing. They have to stay busy. So they shove other things to the side – things like rest, time doing something they love and enjoy, I guess thinking it’s self-indulgent, or that the sky is going to fall if their house isn’t immaculate. These people end up feeling stressed and in a frenzy much of the time, and do not seem ultimately happy. So what’s the point? At the end of your life, will your dying sentiments be how grateful you are to have kept a clean house and kept the bills paid? I don’t know that when we look back on our lives, if those are the things that are going to get a mention! Those are all good things and important, but not more important than loving your family. Nor of living up to who God created you to be – and that doesn’t mean saying yes to every single thing you are ever asked to do by the church or anyone else! Saying yes to too many things doesn’t make you more like Jesus, it causes you to say no to other more important things, sometimes. Plus it stresses you out so that you are not very fun to be around and so not much of a blessing to anybody, much less a light in this world! People who are too busy and can’t keep still, often do not ever stop and smell the roses. They miss when God was blowing them a kiss by way of a beautiful sunrise or a gentle breeze on a warm, summer day. You don’t notice the beauty or the sweetness of a newborn baby you see in the grocery store or at the park, or the laughter of children. You are too busy to notice. God may speak to you through a song, if you’re not so busy that the music is merely background noise as you clean your house or drive your car.
When you drive, you have to be so focused on the road that you can’t really enjoy the sights as you pass them. As a passenger, you can. Maybe if we’d just let Jesus take the wheel once in awhile, we could sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride – this faith journey we are walking with Him. It’s not a power walk with only a purpose of destination. Sometimes it should be a prayer walk. Heaven may be our destination, but we are meant to also enjoy the ride on our way.
I know someone who can’t stand travel. They like to enjoy the places they go to, but hate the ride. Planes are a pain because of long lines, security which gets more and more invasive in this day and age, and delayed flights. Trains take too long. Buses are too cramped. But in order to enjoy the vacation, you have to get there, right?
For me, the travel is half the fun! I don’t like delayed flights and all the other things that are difficult on a long trip, but I do enjoy flying. The take-off is exhilarating! The view is like no other. Even turbulence (within reason!) can be fun, almost like a carnival ride! Landing is fun too!
Then trains. I love trains! The whole experience is romantic. The motion of the train can lull you to sleep. You meet some interesting people sometimes and hear about where they’re from and where they’re going. You see things you can’t see from a plane or even a car, like when we went through the Rockies on our way to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Through the canyons and the Moffat Tunnel! Looking up at jagged peaks all around us!
Car travel is a thing of the past for me, for the most part, because of my car fume allergy, but oh how I would love to take a nice long road trip! To go wherever you want, on your own time schedule, and stop wherever and whenever you want to – to sightsee, eat, or stretch your legs, or take some pictures. To just be alone with your husband, kids or friends – people you are close to – and make some memories as you go along – you know, like Clark Griswold in the Vacation movies?! Okay, not exactly like that, lol. But driving is something I love and wish I could stand longer rides so we could one day drive across the country.
Now buses, I can honestly say I don’t like. I would, if there was leg room and reserved seating, but there is neither. It really is cramped and crowded and you might get a seat, or you might not. You’re not even guaranteed to be able to sit with who you are traveling with! Rod and I took a Greyhound bus to Toledo for our honeymoon, the first time we were married. There were no two seats together available. My heart sunk, to think we wouldn’t be able to sit together – on our honeymoon! But thankfully, a nice young soldier who was travelling alone, got up and moved, offering us his seat and the empty one next to it, so we could sit together. I don’t know if he was an officer, but he certainly was a gentleman!
But even those less than great travel experiences are stories to tell now and sometimes laugh about. Adventures, one way or another. So I love the travel portions of our trips and feel sorry for someone who can’t find a way to enjoy it or at least make the best of it. Some people come home from such nice trips and all they can talk about is how horrible the airline was, or the train that was delayed or whatever inconvenience they encountered. It seems to crowd out any fun they had on their trip. To be sure, if you have a bad enough experience, it can ruin the trip or at least put a damper on it. But if you can just learn to make something good out of it instead of complaining, it just might turn out different.
Like the time I was standing in a long line at O’Hare Airport in Chicago, waiting to change my flight for probably the third time that morning! I was exhausted and stressed out and just wanted to get to where I was going. But at some point, it occurred to me that instead of whining and complaining and stressing out, which would serve no purpose whatsoever in helping the situation, why not take advantage of the situation. Remembering my days of working for an airline, I could well-imagine how harried those workers at the ticket counter must be due to so many irate passengers and people worried about their flights and luggage. I started praying for them. For a calm to wash over them and for God to help them find ways to help all these travelers. I prayed for the passengers in line, for each one to be able to reach their destinations just fine and to remain calm and be patient with the ticket agents trying their best to help so many. I prayed for the tired elderly lady in line in front of me. She wasn’t complaining, as so many others were, except that she just wanted to be able to sit down. I watched her dog and kept her place in line while she sat down for awhile.
You see, I took the focus off the situation and off of me and started thinking about others and caring for their needs too. The frustration lifted and you know what? I never had to go through that whole line. An idea came to me from noticing the guy behind me with his cell phone, that I could call the airline to reschedule in less time than it would take to wait my turn in line. I stayed in line, but within minutes I was rescheduled and good to go. Before I even hung up the phone, an airline worker who was going through the line, to find out what everyone’s need was in case something could be taken care of more quickly, or to maybe assess the most urgent needs, came to me. I told her I’d just called and rescheduled my flight but needed to recheck my bag. She told me she’d take care of it, then I was free to step out of line, get something to eat (I was starving!) and finally sit down and wait for my flight! Also, it was a flight attendant on my previous flight that had told me about the best connecting flight and that is what I asked for when I called the airline. I not only got that flight (they were going to put me on two more connecting flights until I mentioned the direct one), but that flight attendant was working that flight and I was able to thank her for the tip! It’s like, once I took my mind off fretting, things started to fall into place.
Okay, so my luggage didn’t show up till the next morning! I could have complained and grumbled all night. But I was so thankful to just finally be there. I’d prepared for such an event by keeping a toothbrush and toothepaste in my carry-on and one change of clothing. There were no restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, but right on my room’s key card was an ad for a nearby pizza place that delivered. I ordered one and oh, was it good! So I had a bed, a beautiful view of Pikes Peak out my window, which was why I had come, food, a way to clean up and something new to wear in the morning. I could have complained that there was no caffeinated coffee to make in my room’s coffee maker, but I was just thankful to have some hot coffee to wake up with. My luggage came not long after and all was well. I could have gotten mad at the airline and grumbled until my teeth fell out, but what a waste of time! Why not be thankful for what you DO have. Everything does not have to be perfect to be enjoyed. Sometimes it’s a blessing to find out that even when things don’t turn out exactly as you plan or hope, God provides. So you don’t have to worry. How would you ever learn that if not for times like that?
“All things work together for the good….”, as scripture says. So enjoy the ride. Stop stressing over details and grumbling over everything that doesn’t suit you perfectly, as if you are the king or queen and should have whatever you want whenever you want or there’ll be hell to pay! You not only spew your ugliness on those you blame, but those who are with you (who now wish they weren’t!) and you waste an opportunity to make it good, in spite of circumstances. When you can have a good experience in spite of things going wrong, it’s a true victory. It’s like, uh-uh, this isn’t going to ruin my day! You take charge of the situation. It’s all attitude. You can’t always control your circumstances or other people’s actions, but you CAN control, with God’s help, your attitude and response. It’ll be whatever you make of it. You want to make it ugly, it’ll be ugly, alright. But you can make it good. It’s up to you.
As always, I haven’t made just one single point, but have gone from one to another. But if I had to sum it all up, I’d say, life is a journey. Enjoy the ride. Don’t just stress over details that merely make up the structure of life, important though that may be. Don’t get so caught up in the structure of life, that you forget to live! Then when you are busy living, enjoy it and make the best out of situations that threaten to spoil things. There will be times of struggle and of grief. I’m not saying dance through it all, when you need to grieve or cry. Those are needs, too. But to just stay thankful anyway and keep your focus on God and on the good that can come out of your situation instead of having a tantrum over not getting your way. When your car breaks down – maybe it’s because it’s high time you stopped and smelled the roses.
