Where the Soul Breathes

Deep sand that tickles the toes.  Seagulls diving in for delicious fish.  Warm sun beating down.  Cool ocean waves that wash away worries.  Wild dolphins swimming just yards away.  Dripping wet boys with huge grins.  My sister in the striped beach chair next to me.  The Word wide open and God speaking fresh. 

The beach has always been where my soul breathes best.

I had a troubling few days right before we left.  Shortness of breath and heart palpitations led to tests that concluded mild regurgitation in the mitral and tricuspid valves. Nothing too serious, but perhaps an answer to the breathing issue.  And breathing is an important issue.

Sometimes the soul gets so bogged down it forgets how to grab a deep breath.  It forgets that the sound of Yahweh's name is like breathing itself.  We breathe Him in and we exhale the quicksand that has held us captive in the inner recesses.

It has been the summer of cancer.  First, Eric's Dad.  Then, a dear friend we have had for 9 years.  All we can do is surrender and pray hard and beg for fresh breath because breathing in His name will be the only thing that carries us.

We were so grateful for some time together as a family.  We squeezed our 6-pack of a family into a 1000 square foot beach house and more or less slept on top of one another, but I loved being so close knit for a week.  No sports or wii or appointments or work or anything else to distract.  I am a blessed woman to have Eric and those 4 boys.  Blessed.

{You know I had to take a picture or two...}