Saturday, November 19, 2011

Catching Breaths

Can our breath be caught? 

Surely, there are moments that interrupt the hectic, bringing hurried breaths to the submission of surrender.

A letting go of control. 

Breath on frosty glass captures warmth, and for a moment cold gives in to heat.

A baby's cry stops a mother's sigh of sleep, catching instinct in her throat.

We blow out birthday candles, entwining breathy prayers of hope into smoky swirls.

What happens in these moments of caught breath?

We listen more,

see more,

touch more,

feel, smell, savor, learn, dream, wonder, hope,

and live

with heightened reflection on what is essential and precious.

Like one in love, we pluck the petals of  
loves me & loves-me-nots.



If in our final moment,

God has caught our breath:

"He loves me,"

comes with the plucking of that last petal.

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! 
Praise the LORD!"
(Psalm 150:6)