Don't forget to Breathe.....

"You just chase your dreams, you don't even take the time to sleep. 
But don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to breathe.
And when you're down and out, just hold on, please.
Or just close your eyes and count to three
But don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to breathe"      Stormzy

There's a lot to make us angry at the moment. There's a lot to make us shout. There are polarised views and there's injustice and disappointment. 

There's a lot to make us sad at the moment. There's a lot to to make us weep. There's bad news and there are broken lives and there's so much devastation. 

There's a lot to make us anxious at the moment. There's a lot to make us worry. There's uncertainty and there are stumbling blocks and potholes. 

In the midst of it all, don't forget to breathe. 

At the end of a week with all of the stuff in it the other week, I saw an advert for Pro Plus on the tram, promising to make me feel more awake if I took Caffeine tablets. The solution was not to pause, but to make it possible to keep going. The makers of Pro Plus know that's how the world works.....

But I'd rather not, because I know that to put the things in place to make me go faster only means that the shouting, the weeping, the worrying - it'll become harder to contain, and it will overwhelm. 

I'd rather find the time to rest, the time to sleep and the time to be still and know that God is God. God puts rest at the centre of the ten commandments. 

He's big enough to hold the landscape. He's strong enough to hold the broken. He holds the stable place amongst the uncertainty. He brings peace even in the places where peace seems impossible. 

In the midst of it all, don't forget to breathe. 

You'd love to change everything now, you lose sleep because you can't see how.

But don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to breathe. 

And when you don't know where to turn, just be still, please.

Just close your eyes and rest in God.

Don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to breathe. 

Breathe in peace 

Breathe in joy

Breathe in love 

Breathe in strength

"Like a shepherd, he will care for his flock, gathering the lambs in his arms, hugging them as he carries them, leading the nursing ewes to good pasture" Isaiah 40:11 (MSG)