Out of breath

First of all, I can’t believe it has been this long since I last blogged.  I hope to do better.  But I was thinking the other day about getting the breath knocked out of you.  I mean in the proverbial sense.  Have you ever been just traveling through life and wham something happens and it knocks the breath out of you?  Something similar happened to me recently.  As I write this, I am thinking about the male gymnast who was doing the vault and he messed up and hit the vault table.  Here watch it for yourself.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XmoinxMAxE&feature=related  As I was watching this guy, I couldn’t help but think how many times he had practiced the vault.  Hundreds maybe even thousands of times he had run and completed the vault, but not this time.  What happened?  What changed?  Was it a lack of preparation?  I think it may have been that his steps were messed up or he just missed the spring board.  Either way, he had the breath knocked out of him and he was dazed.

In life, sometimes we get dazed.  We can be living our lives as we always do.  Doing the same things over and over, hundreds maybe even thousands of times.  We get into the habit of doing things and something happens, something changes.  Our steps get messed up.  We allow the monotony of life or the struggles of life get us sidetracked and get our attention off of the details of taking care of ourselves.  And before we know it, we do something, or something is done to us, and our breath is gone.  And at times, the breath comes right back, but other times it last and last, to the point where you think you are dying.

I remember getting the breath knocked out of me many times, but the first time I can recall I was playing pee-wee football.  I was running with the football and got tackled.  When I hit the ground, I landed right on top of the ball and it knocked the breath out of me.  It scared the bejeebies out of me.  I thought I was dying.  I couldn’t catch my breath.  I was gasping for air and going crazy at the same time.  My coaches came over and made me lay still.  They pulled my pants away from stomach by the waistband and it made my stomach relax enough to where I caught my breath.  LIFE!!  I could breathe.  That first full breath was new life. 

As I sit here with the breath having been knocked out of me, I look at the circumstances of how it happened and I was stupid.  I took some wrong steps.  And here I am gasping.  So what now.  I need to be still, take time with THE Coach and let Him give me back my breath.  He is the creator of my breath anyway. 

My Prayer:  Lord help me to be still and know that you are God.  Help me to make wise choices as lately I have not.  Please give me back what I have allowed the locust to destroy.  And please give me back my breath so I can use it for your glory.  Help me not be selfish.  Help me to put others needs before mine.  Help me to love as you do.  Thank you for your grace and your mercy and your forgiveness.  I love you Lord.  I want to sing of your praises forever.  I want to worship you with my actions, not just my words. Your Word teaches me that they will know me by my fruit.  What is my fruit?  Is it glorifying You?  Do my breath and my actions line up?  If not, knock my breath away as much as You need too, so that they line up to honor You.  Thank you for my time with You.  Thank you that you listen and that you care.  Help me to be a man after Your Heart.  I love you Lord.  Amen