For when we need the Breath of Life for those frozen places

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It seemed so long ago that the farmer’s fields surrounding our home bloomed vibrant with wheat the colour of sunshine. Now, the fields are covered by a frozen blanket of snow, the landscape’s hue no longer rich in saturation, but low in contrast against a pearl-grey sky. Sometimes I think about placing a silk flower bouquet, rich in jewel colours, into the snow to add a pop of colour to lighten up those frozen place. I’m reminded how a burst of colour in our grey and frozen spaces is like a breath of fresh air that revives our mind, body, and spirit.

Spring, though, is just around the corner, a glance ahead to the next week on my calendar promises this is so. During a recent trip to a local greenhouse, multiple display stands filled the space with hundreds of 3 x 4 colourful envelopes, each carrying their particular seed collection of vegetable, fruit, spice, herb, or flower. My husband is the gardener, and he lingered around the pumpkin seeds to finally choose a few new squash varieties for our annual pumpkin patch. I wandered away from the seeds to the succulents that were naturally doing their thing — improving air quality by absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen. I breathed in deeply, the fresh air reviving my senses like a splash of cool, mountain lake water on a hot day.

Every breath we take is life-giving. Our chest expands and contracts with each inhale and exhale. For some of us, this physical expanding and contracting happens unnoticed throughout our days. For others, breathing may be restricted and difficult, requiring attention on an on-going basis. Regardless, our physical bodies stay alive from inhaling in oxygen to provide nutrients for our cells, and then expelling carbon dioxide, a by-product of our respiratory system. One could say that the advise to “breathe in the good and breathe out the bad” is more than just an adage!

We read in Genesis how “God breathed life into the first man, creating him from dust.” (Gen. 2-7). We began life with the perfect breath of God; His life-giving breath that represents all that is good. Later in John 20:22, we are taken into the scene of a “resurrected Jesus (who) breathed on his disciples saying “Receive the Holy Spirit,” who gives guidance and power to do God’s work. Through receiving God’s breath and the breath of Jesus we became alive and empowered to do God’s will. It is God who gives us our breath, our life, and all things. (Acts 17:25).

I admit that the monochrome winter days can have me longing for the polychrome days of summer days. I am no longer present in the breath of the moment. Rather than wearing layers upon layers outdoors, I want to feel the sun’s ray’s on my uncovered arms, and breathe in freely without the barrier of my wool scarf. I want to see more than just crows crossing the skies above me, and I want to touch soft leaves that once bloomed on the barren branches from the trees on our property.

One day my husband and I take a drive to a dam, and I photograph frozen falls — falling waters now trapped into place. And I wonder, “What have I a hardened myself to? What within me froze to the beauty of all things?” I climb the wooden stairs to the top of the dam, thankful for the railings that I grasp to lift a tired, stiff arthritic hip with each step. My husband stands on the trail with a gloved hand out-stretched. In the trees a trio of grey jays are fluttering then resting in tangles of branches above. I pull my camera up to my eye, but their silver-grey bodies blend into the scene — hard to distinguish, but, yes, their in this natural beauty of God’s creation.

And I start to see that maybe this winter, I’ve layered more than my clothes. My wants of what could be created veils on the what is. When I don’t stretch out in the present, I chill the possibilities of experiencing joy. How have I forgotten that every breath I take — that one second of time — is God’s living breath within me? How have I missed seeing His creations in all His created colours? Whether low in pigments or high in contrast, God created all things that satisfy all our needs. He is the one true colour of our life.

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need.” Acts 17:24-25

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6

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What I am Loving, Learning and Letting Go

I am loving Tim Holtz’s Distress Crayons. I purchased these crayons at least two years ago, but only used them a few times. My current aim is to use the art supplies I have instead of buying anything new. So, I watched a couple of tutorials on how to use distress crayons, and I have fallen in love with their ease of use with very little mess!

I am learning how anxiety affects not only our health, but also how we serve others. In “Managing Leadership Anxiety,” author Steve Cuss teaches how to recognize anxiety in ourselves and in others, so we can break free from unhealthy patterns that keep us stuck.

I am letting go of my “I will read later” subscriptions. Instead of letting emails pile up in my inbox, I either delete or unsubscribe, so I can be fully present to a few, instead of scanning the many.

Your turn….

Be brave because the world needs you…