The Breath of God
My alarm clock went off with a loud buzz… I count the seconds before I react one…two…three. It shocks me every morning even though I should be used to it by now. I quickly reach across the right side of my body and push the snooze button and when I get my bearings, I turn it completely off and climb out of bed.
It is really dark and there is not a single shred of light anywhere in the room. I can’t find my shoes so I turn on the bedside lamp for just a single second to peek down at the floor. I turn it off quickly so that I do not wake my sleeping husband.
There is a deep chill in this old farmhouse built in the early 1900’s and made of iron ore rock stacked two stories tall. Overnight the temperature dropped and the air in the house dropped with it.
I grab my robe that I had draped over the end of the bed the night before in anticipation of a cold morning and call out to my rescue dog to follow. We carefully and slowly make our way down the stairs to my well-worn spot of communion.
When the house is asleep, each step seems excruciatingly loud, the old wood creaking and groaning under foot. These steps are trustworthy and sturdy, but not without complaint after almost ninety years of service.
When it is really cold outside, ice crystals cling to the windows and frost spreads out like a blanket over the surface of ground. The grass seems to carry the cold, allowing it to rest on the tips of its blades. Warm sharply contrasts the cold with visible effects.
When we breathe, inhaling and exhaling, we can physically see our breath. It is a scientific process, but it reminded me of why I make the early journey downstairs every morning when my alarm clock gives out a loud buzz… one… two… three.
Waiting there in my well-worn spot of communion is an opportunity to witness the breath of God. I can get close enough to see it, to hear His words, to carry His promises like the ground was carrying the cold, allowing it to saturate my soul with Truth.
Gods Word is like the warm air deep within the lungs pouring out into the cold environment of this world. The Word of God was meant to be visible in my life.
The time that we have been given is such a gift; the way that we can choose to fill it right up to the brim however we would like is such a privilege. Full though, does not always mean satisfied and time has a way like a vapor leaving us fewer choices whether we like it or not.
Our deepest relationships require the sacrifice of our time. Time allows us the space to truly see people for who they are. Have you ever truly known someone that you have not first chosen to invest your time in?
The time that I invest in getting to know Christ increases my capacity to experience Him. The place where I need to experience my faith the most is in my day to day life. I am not interested in a theory or a religion. I want to know the One who breathes life, who transforms me from the inside out… daily.
It is in the stillness of the early morning that I hear His heart beating Truth. It sounds like order. Often, I am wild and out of sorts when I come to this place of communion and the way that the Word is settled, silences the things in me that are not.
I can, myself, find no words to speak until I sit in this quiet place of trust, tilting my ear to the sound of His voice. I arrive with great expectancy, waiting with great confidence that my strength will be renewed. He is ever faithful.
Let's be honest, how many times a day are the hairs on our head swept at the passing of a busied culture, but here in this secret place, we find rest that falls over our souls like rainfall. It is in the hurried way of this world that brings mistake and misfortune, rattling the mind with urgency. It is in the stillness that we discover treasure hidden in the sure clarity of Gods Word.
The quiet of this place is brilliantly deafening, mercifully covering my ears to the unnecessary noise and distractions that relentlessly shout at me all the time.
I know no other security like His, no other place to put my entire trust. So I come to this place early and wait until I hear Him.
The Word of God revives my heart sending hope pushing and pumping out into every part of who I am. It is alive. I can sense that it is splitting marrow and dividing joints, filtering out the influence of this world.
Truth becomes the driving force of everything that I think, that I say and that I do. Christ stays at the core of all things. His Word rests on the surface of my heart like the frost on the grass. The warmth of His words sharply contrast the cold with visible effects.
His presence will be made known in the habits of the soul. This early traveling through the dark to join Him in life breathing has become a habit. I have found Him and I cling to Him like a treasure... close enough to see His breath.