Deep Breaths


Take a deep breath. Breathe in…count to four…and let it out.
          As I was journaling the other day, I thought about how much I packed into this week. I wrote about how back-to-back everything was and as I was writing, I realized how fast I was writing. Even my journaling was rushed! Rushing isn't a new thing for me. I used to get in trouble at school for rushing through things. Being first didn't always mean it was neat or done correctly. Rushing still gets me into trouble. I submit to you all of the wasted scraps of fabric that I cut wrong because I didn't take time to double check the size I was supposed to cut.
            So, I stopped writing in my journal, closed my eyes, and breathed in. And breathed out.
            A counselor suggested to me once taking four deep breaths throughout the day and counting the breaths. She said to notice when you only get to two or three and get distracted. Re-center, and make it to that fourth breath.
           To that end, I've been really into breath prayers lately. Breath prayers have taken different forms over time. Drawing from Paul’s words in I Thessalonians 5:17, to “pray without ceasing,” breath prayers remind us how even something like a breath can be a prayer.
Breathe in. Focus on a word or a phrase. Maybe it’s from scripture. Maybe it’s from a song. Maybe it’s just the word Jesus.
Breathe out. Focus on the second part of the phrase. Focus on a second word. A second note. Pay attention to your breath.  How long is the breath? Does it feel rushed? Try to slow down.
After a few deep breaths, I pulled out my Bible and just read the first few verses of Genesis. I closed my eyes, started to take longer breaths, and the phrase that kept coming in and out of my heart like a tide was God hovering. “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” verse 2 reads. I focused in on just the two words: God hovering. I pictured God hovering over the waters of creation, ready to spring into action, but first taking that pause to breathe. To hover. In the very next verse, God says, “Let there be light!” and there was light. But first, God hovered.
To hover is to remain in one place. It’s not necessarily still; there is some movement, but the movement is centered on one particular space in time. God hovered over the waters of creation. In breath prayer, I hovered over this phrase and this image.
Maybe today what you need is a pause. Maybe you have been feeling rushed or like your schedule is packed too full. Maybe by the time you get to the end of the month, the calendar is drowning in ink (if you’re like me and still use a paper calendar). Sometimes I crave busy. Busy feels productive. Productive feels good. But occasionally, busy is too much and we just need that pause.
So pause today. Try the breath prayer. In the link below, you can find more instructions on the breath prayer.
            Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

https://www.presbyterianmission.org/wp-content/uploads/20minutesabbaths-breathprayers1.pdf

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