I worry. I worry a lot. It is something I do that can bring me down in the middle of the day to my knees. I’ve been a worrier since I was a child. Worrying about the people around me, about my home, my animals, the future. 

I cannot recall how many times I have found myself lying on my bed feeling helpless with worry. Or driving in my vehicle overcome with anxiety about a situation that seemed out of my control. During those times when I am just about to just lose myself, I call out for help.

Sometimes I just cry out to no one in particular, just needing someone, anyone, to help me get out of head. But more often than not, when I call, I am calling out to Jesus. And He always responds, sometimes faint, sometimes loud and clear, but the words I hear have always been, “Just breathe”.

Then I do. 

Sometimes short shallow breaths, sometimes a big slow inhale followed by an even slower exhale. In, out, in, out….

Breathing has been a calming technique for ages. It slows down our breath, allows us to bring back our focus, and gives us time to reflect on the situation at hand. 

But it is also a reminder. 

Jesus is reminding us that every breath we take is a gift. That even though we find ourselves in troubling times, those breaths we breathe is a gift of life. We get to live those moments, good…and bad. 

It is a reminder that we are here to experience so many things and that each and every experience is a present given to us. 

We have been given LIFE. 

And one day when we are out of breaths, if we have lived a life guided by God, we get an even bigger gift. The biggest gift of all. 

To LIVE with God for eternity.