Breathing Space

My son Brian plays ball for his high school team, the Bulloch Academy Gators. Just the other day he was telling me about how many "suicides" (or sprints) they had to run at practice. The coach has the team run 1 "suicide" for each point the opposing team scores over a certain number (something like 45 points). So, if the other team scores 52 points, Brian's team has to run, let's say 7 "suicides."

As Brian complained of about how hard it was to catch his breath when he had to run so many consecutive "suicides," it made me think back to my days of playing ball. It was if, all of the sudden, I could feel that pain in my chest from running so much, especially on days when the gym was cold. I wanted nothing more than to just catch my breath. And, I remembered that sharp pain that dug into my side after running a lot. Man, did that hurt! Sometimes, I could even hear and feel my heart beating in my head so loud and hard that I thought I couldn't go on. Before you knew it, I found myself not running as hard as I knew I could. I was "cutting corners" on my sprints just to get some relief.

Just as vividly, I remember what it was like to get that few minutes of "breathing time." I was so glad that there were enough players on our team to have 3 groups running separately. That way, my group could rest and catch our breath while the other two groups were running their "suicides." All I needed was just enough time to catch my breath. It made all the difference in the world during practice and paid off during the game.

Today, I came to a 2 day retreat on St. Simons Island, Ga. with a group of pastors. As I drove over here this morning, I was talking with God about how much I had to do before our first preview worship service this Sunday morning. I didn't have time to "go to meetings." I have been running around like a chicken-with-its-head-cut-off trying these last couple of weeks to get all the loose ends tied up and just didn't have time to waste ...especially in meetings with other preachers. GEESH!

But, guess what? Since I have been here, I've realized that I have been "running suicides" in my own life. All this running around, getting ready to start the new church has caused me to be "out of breath" and lead me to start "cutting corners."

What I am finding during these 48 hours at this retreat is a "break," though it is short. One that is long enough to let me "catch my breath" and get ready for the next "suicide" waiting on me when I return Friday night.

Whatever is weighing you down in our life or causing you to run so hard that you may be "cutting corners," my prayer for you is that God will allow you the opportunity to take a "break," just long enough to catch your breath. God has been helping us breath since we were created. Why would he stop now? We just have to make the time to ask him.

Look at Genesis 2:7

Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature...

Peace,

Dorsia