One Word...

I've seen so many of my fellow blogging friends who are picking one word for 2012.  One Word 365 is an alternative to setting New Year's Resolutions.  It is...

"One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live

or what you want to achieve by the end of 2012.

One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.

It will take hard work, and will require intentionality and commitment.

 But if you let it, your One word will shape you and your year.

It will guide your decisions and help you grow."

So, I picked a word...

I'm six months late, but better late than never, right?

When I started the Couch to 5K, I really struggled with breathing.  I was concentrating on surviving.  Deidre had to keep reminding me that I needed to breathe..."breathe through your nose...it will help regulate your breathing."  I couldn't.  I struggled.  I've been struggling with asthma for the past year. 
While it was really hard for me to find just one word to concentrate on, when I saw the picture above, I knew it was IT...the one word for the remaining half of 2012.  "Breathe."  It's the first thing I forget to do when the going gets tough. 

So, why "Breathe?"  What is God teaching me about this word? First off, it doesn't only apply to running.


Breathe:

1. to take air, oxygen, etc., into the lungs and expel it; inhale and exhale; respire.

2. (in speech) to control the outgoing breath in producing voice and speech sounds.

3. to pause, as for breath; take rest: "How about giving me a chance to breathe?"

4. to move gently or blow lightly, as air.

5. to live; exist: "Hardly a man breathes who has not known great sorrow."

So, what is God teaching me about breathing?

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."  (Genesis 2:7)

Breathing is to live.  Having breath is having life.  We can't survive without it.

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16)

All scripture is God breathed.  Reading God's word, or inhaling His inspiration, is profitable.  Breathing in God's word is having communion with Him. 

^" Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord."  (Psalm 150:6)

Breathing is a form of worship.  As long as I have breath, I should be praising the Lord.

When the going gets rough...and it will, I should be pausing to remember to inhale God's strength, wisdom, and security...exhale my fatigue, anxiety, and doubt...  I should remember Who I belong to and how He will sustain me.  Throughout the good and bad experiences I may encounter, I will praise God with every breath He has mercifully given me.  While I am running this race we call life, when I feel completely overwhelmed, when my heart aches with sorrow, when my strength is all gone...I must remember to breathe and find rest in Him.