Today we had an individual come into our office struggling to breath. It was almost as if she was hyperventilating or had an obstruction in her throat. From my office, I heard the difficulty in breathing and came to our caseworker’s aid. As I turned the corner, I saw her lips turning blue and her nerves getting more and more frazzled.
We were able to call 911 and get her some help. We are still not sure what was the situation or what she was trying to say, but we are confident that she is in good hands with our local paramedics.
As I returned to my office and tried to calm my nerves, I began to think of a time in my life when I had been choking on some food as a child. The feeling of complete helplessness as you are struggling to take in such a precious resource as air, it is quite scary. I remember the feeling of running from the table to the living room where my parents were. My dad asking the age old question, “Are you choking?” and then coming to the rescue. . . . . .AIR!!!!!!!! What a great feeling it was to take that first clear breath when the food was dislodged from my airway.
“God, how great it is to breath!” – my first thoughts, then gratitude for my father as he had saved my life. Thanks dad!
My thought for today is not just to tell a story, but to remind all of us, the feeling of being unable to breath. Not everyone has experienced the physical inability to breath, but everyone, whether you have been fully aware of it or not, everyone has or will experience the feeling of being without breathe.
The fear of “What is going to happen?”…”Will I make it through this?”…”How am I going to fix this?”…”Who can help me?”…”I don’t want to die!”
Those thoughts, at some point, have gone through all of our minds, and may even go through our minds again in the future. Spiritually, we all struggle at times with being able to breath. We get into situations, because of our decisions, that begin to choke the life out of us. Most of us would say “We don’t want to die.” But there is a life source. There is a way for us to be able to breathe air again, and not just O2 (oxygen), but the air of life.
God, our Father, is waiting for us to come and seek Him out. He is waiting for us to reach out to Him and ask for His grace. When we come to Him, choking on the life that we have tried to live on our own, He clears the obstructions in our airways and gives us the gift of life again.
You don’t have to face your days, choking on the situations. God wants to give you the breathe of everlasting life. You just need to ask.
I think of my dad, Bill Shiels, often. Oh, how I miss him. But how grateful I am that he helped me have another opportunity to breath as a child.
The same is true of my Father God in heaven. He has given me another opportunity to breath, and he wants you to have that as well.
Trust in Him today. (John 3:16)