Breathing in the Fresh Air

I had a late meeting last night and as I drove home I rolled my windows down and took a deep breath of the cool night air. I was near some corn fields and the dew had already begun to form on the leaves of the stalks. I thought to myself, this is what "refreshing" smells like. Refreshing, like renewing and revitalizing, is an active thing. It is a change from something old to something new. Refreshing is also something that makes us feel better. There is a comfort or a peace that comes along with being refreshed.

Fresh air has a way of clearing our heads. It can re-energize us and give us a new focus. Fresh air is not always missed until you come upon it again. But then that first blast makes you realize how long you have been without it. You begin to crave it again and want to breath in as much as you can, as fast as you can. Pretty soon you are light headed, unbalanced. You need to take a seat and catch your breath.

Our relationship with Christ is like a Breath of Fresh Air. Sometimes we get so busy with the day-to-day business of life that we forget about making time and space for Him. We can go days, weeks, months, years even without realizing that we are not letting Him in. Then something happens, something unexpected and startling. It may be something big or it may be something very small but it shakes you to your core. You instantly realize that the way you have been living your life needs to change. You need to hit the "refresh" button. And when you do, when you actually take a moment to breath, to let the healthy, life giving air of Christ into your life, you are blown away by it's power to change everything.

Suddenly you can not believe you have lived without Him for so long. Suddenly you begin to crave Him again, you can't get enough of Him and you surround yourself in His presence. You begin to get a little light headed and you need to take a seat and catch your breath! And then you hear His quiet whisper calling out to you in the night "Be still my child and know that I am with you. I have always been here, and I will continue to be."

You see, the thing with Re-Freshing Air is that you need a balance. There is a necessary process of "out with the old, in with the new." Fresh air can only be of benefit if you release the stale air you are holding inside. Your relationship with Christ can only be refreshing if you let go of the pain and the hurt, the disappointments, the struggles, the need to control, the anger, the pride. When your lungs are filled with dirty air they begin to wither and die. When your heart is filled with suffering and resentment it too will begin to wither and die.

What are you holding on to? What do you need to let out in a rush of stale air? What do you need to release in order to let in the Fresh Air of Christ? Go ahead, close your eyes, think for a moment, it will come to you, I promise. We all KNOW exactly what it is, we just need to admit it to ourselves and give ourselves permission to let it out. And when we do, Christ will rush in like a breath of fresh air. He will fill our lungs, our minds, and our hearts with something that we didn't even realize we were missing.

My prayer for you today is that you stop, you reflect, you realize and then you act. Our lives are meant to be lived in the presence of the Holy One. I pray that you sit still long enough to feel the presence of God surround you. I pray that you invite Him into a closer relationship with you. When you do He will Refresh you heart, Renew your mind and Revitalize your life.

Until We Meet Again,
Drea

p.s. - In order for this to be a supportive community of Christ-followers we need to be willing to share our experiences. Please take a moment to comment on what you are feeling, what you are dealing with, what you are changing in your life. This is a safe place and God surrounds all we say here.