Breath

 One Wednesday night a few years back, the Northbrook kids and I talked about feeling crushed spiritually. Now, I would imagine most people, when thinking of K-3rd graders (the make-up of that Wednesday night group), you would sort of chuckle at there being anything "crushing" in their lives, but you'd be amazed at the things that feel crushing to them (homework, bullies, and eggs, apparently).
  
In fact, I have discussed this so many times with different people in different contexts. It is so easy, in the midst of YOUR problems, to hear someone else's problems and think how insignificant they are. A mom of teenaged boys talked about how much easier the irritating habits of a fifth grader seem to her now that she has teenagers. But anyone who has a fifth grader can tell you that there are things happening with that kid that feel crushing to you as a parent sometimes. Listening to a student talk about a best friend shunning them or college applications can sound trivial to adults who have bills to pay, children to raise, and work stress--BUT I remember feeling like those things had the ability to actually make the world stop turning. The pain YOU are going through can be crushing, no matter what that pain is; no matter what age you are.  
  
 We all know what it feels like to be crushed in the spirit--to feel like the weight of what you are going through might take you under--like the air is being sucked right out of your lungs.
  
But here's the beauty. Our lungs are not just filled with oxygen, and our bodies aren't just filled with our spirits. We have, right inside of us, the breath of God AND the Holy Spirit. And God has promised that when our spirits feel crushed and the air is leaving our lungs, his breath will sustain us, and his Spirit will hold us up.
  
When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2
  
So, when your world is crushing you, take a moment and find the breath of God inside you. And when you see someone in your life looking like they might be going under, make yourself the hand of God that holds them up--if only briefly. Encourage them. Pray for them or WITH them. Remind them that they, too, have the breath of God right there inside them and he promises not that we won't go through deep waters, great trouble, or the fire of oppression, but that he will sustain us through it.
 
Yours In Christ,
 
Leslie Bowers
Director of Creative Services