Holding our breath

The last day and a bit have been a bit worrisome (take English understatement in that!). Kiah has been sick for a few days with a chest infection which has landed her in the hospital. Her amusement at all the wires and beeps has soon turned to tiredness - but she is a trooper.

The machine which measures how much oxygen is in her blood shrieks at us if the level falls too low - and it kept being fine for a while and then dipping. It was a little odd but then I started watching her and realized that when she concentrates she holds her breath and was sending the thing crazy. So the edges of the spots on the turtle she was coloring, and the sticker shoes on the sticker doll which had to be placed just right caused a precipitous drop in the readings. I found myself saying - concentrate AND breathe - over and over.

But this seems to be a good parable for the day - how often do we get so stuck into a task - especially in Church - that we forget to breathe? The parallel is not oxygen but the breath of the Spirit - prayer that sustains us. When we find ourselves thinking:
"No I am too busy doigood to pray," we might do well to think of our overall health. Without enough breath we will not do anything so well, without prayer we will not be able to complete the work which God intends.