We got back Tuesday night late from a long weekend in Florida celebrating my nephew’s wedding. Even though it was cold for Florida, there were bright colors like fuchsia and emerald that we forget during the never-ending Minneapolis winters of snow white and soot gray. We didn’t have to wear 10 layers of clothes and spend 20 minutes just “getting ready” to go outside. Mostly there was sun and the smell of fresh cut grass. We could breathe. And we did.
We breathed in the love of family and friends and laughter and deep sleep and play – such delightful play. It made me think again, of how much we hold our breath in the everyday grind of life and how we need to figure out a rhythm that allows us to breathe without waiting for vacation.
My One Word for 2015 is Stronger. The rhythm of breathing is just one more area where I need to grow stronger, and I was reminded of these words I wrote awhile ago:
It’s summertime, which for me conjures up memories of being at the Lake House with my cousins, perpetually in a wet swim suit, rarely out of the lake. One of the many games we would play was “who-can-hold-their-breath-longest-without-dying”.
Ok, it wasn’t a real active game, but you know…simple pleasures. And nobody actually died so our parents considered it a win.
Sometimes without even thinking about it, we play life like this “who-can-hold-their-breath-longest-without-dying” game.
I don’t write much about Sabbath. And I’ve never written about Selah. But as I’ve started running, I’ve become much more aware of the importance of rhythm and rest, and basics. Like breathing. And not holding our breath til we pass out.
Selah is a term used mostly in the Psalms and a few times in Habbakuk that is a bit of a mystery. Scholars aren’t positive what it means, but they think it means “rest” or “pause”.
Mark Batterson says, like in music, if Sabbath is a full rest, maybe Selah is a sixteenth rest. A chance to catch your breath.
Or maybe Selah is the life jacket that helps us pop up above the water of everyday stress. Continue reading
