The Rest of Exhale

Exhale.  

My One Word for 2016.  

Just a few short weeks into the month and I have already started to find myself challenged by the word.  Have you ever stopped to realize how quickly our calendars attempt to fill themselves up?  It kind of makes them sound like they are living beings, but often I think we fail to remember that they are inanimate objects that can be of great use or they can become the albatross around our necks.

A calendar can be the thing we look at to create space in our lives.  Or it can be the thing we fill to the max in an attempt to find our purpose and passion in life.  I have been so guilty of doing the later.  Feeling like I need to be doing to be productive.  It makes the moments when I am not experiencing forward movement feel like moments of failure.

Exhale.

Have you ever stopped to just observe your breathing pattern?  It is an exercise that both of my counselors have needed to remind me of occasionally as a means to manage my anxiety and panic attacks.

With my word for the 2016 being exhale, I have found myself this week doing that exercise not because of panic attacks, but because it serves as a reminder to rest in the moment.  

When I take a moment to exhale while purposefully grocery shopping it makes me observe the flowers that will add happiness and emotion to my living room.  

When I exhale while struggling with the varying moods of a 16 month old. who is still trying to figure out how to communicate what exactly it is she wants, I find myself seeing pieces of myself in this beautiful little girl.

In a world where we are surrounded with the latest medical journals, available with a mere click of the mouse, how do we miss that the most basic function of our existence is dependent on the act of exhaling?  We do it every day without thought as we breath in and breath out, but in our mental and emotional worlds we continue to push ourselves to the extreme trying to be productive and discover ourselves.  

Somehow in those moments I think we lose ourselves the most.  We lose sight of who God created us to be.  God creates some of us with amazing energy and drive, but if we focus only on that we lose endless opportunities to be present in the moments and with the people that surround us.  

Exhale.

Rest.

When we exhale as a physical function it provides our lungs the opportunity to rest.  We then have the ability to run marathons, climb mountains and if you're me.... Chase a 16 month old around the house.  These things are only possible when our lungs have that split second of rest.  But think about it.... How much resting do our lungs do in one day by the mere act of exhaling? 

In contrast, how often do we rest ourselves, our emotions, our bodies, our minds?  God creates our bodies with endless reminders that we were made to rest.  God begins the story of Creation by resting on the seventh day.  

One of my favorite stories from the Old Testament is the moment Elijah is hiding in a cave when this happens:

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

(1 Kings 19:11-12)

Wind.

 Earthquake. 

Fire.

All of these are high energy, driven occurrences, but those are not the moments when God chose to speak to Elijah.  God spoke in a soft whisper.  And when Elijah hears that soft whisper and responses, God is able to use him to do amazing things!  It's in the moments of silence and stillness when God has the space to speak the strongest into our lives.  

So whatever your word for the year might be, I encourage you to think about how it looks when you add the component of rest to that word.