Breathe

Breathe, He said to me

As my harried soul jumped

From one thought to the next

And my carried over burdens

Jumped from now to then.

                                      

Breathe, He said to me

As His whispered breath fluttered

Onto my thoughts

And His gentle yoked peace

Filled slowly the crevices.

Breathe, He said to me

As words called from the mist

Above my raging storm

And Humbled Heart learning

Drew me longing for more.

Breathe, He said to me

As bondages strong and long fell

From around my feet

And wondrous New Naming

Joined my heart to His.

Breathe, He said to me

As heart beats slowed

Around our joined souls

And rested gentle lips

Breathed of His own Heaven.
        -BG

              

"I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians."

 Exodus 6:7

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” 
Matthew 11:28-30 



In this week of more testings, and Gratefulness for good reports for my husband, my heart is finding space to breathe.



Are you finding space for breath
this summer?



How is God leading you to find rest for your soul?



Leave a comment below; I love to hear how
our Lord meets each one of us! 

 This poem began from the prompt "Deep Breath" last week from Jamie Wright Bagley. You can check out her site by clicking here.

I am linking this week with:
Meg Weyerbacher, #TeaAndWordTuesday 

Barbie Swihart, #Glimpsesofhisbeauty 

Jennifer Dukes Lee, #TellHisStory 

Community. . .

The Body of Christ. . .

Bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. (Galations 6:2) . . .

Because He told us that HIS yoke is easy and HIS burden is light, why is it so confusing to us, this burden-bearing-process?   Why do those burdens that we pick up along the way with each other feel so heavy?

My Counselor gave me a hard word for my "Homework" this week:

BOUNDARIES

I have a hard time with that word. You see, years ago, Jesus tore down my own walls of perfection that I had set for myself.  Now I don't like the idea of  re-setting fences; re-erecting walls to fend off possible attacks;  re-forming masks to keep out prying eyes. . .  Neither did Jesus. After all, He called out the Pharisees with their whitewashed sepulchers! (Matthew 23:27)

And yet, BOUNDARIES are spoken of quite differently when the Holy Spirit places them:

"Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; 

you make my lot secure. 

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 

surely I have a delightful inheritance." (Psalm 16:5-6)

Have I created my own confusion?  What if I have picked up yokes along the way that were never meant for me? What if I have set up protections for myself that never needed to be in place?  But what if I have MISSED the very protection that would have been pleasant for me, by walking on past the YOKE that Jesus would have desired me to bear? 

Here in this place of RA/Fibro weakness,  a new Season of Yoke-bearing has become inescapable. I cannot bear the old burdens any longer; I cannot live the old way of

NO BOUNDARIES
OPEN SEASON
FREE-FOR-ALL

that I was in the habit of doing. And I have felt adrift. Cut off from the Body. Because if NO-BOUNDARIES-LIVING is not possible, how can I ever learn again to bear ANY burdens?

In the middle of these questions, I came across this beautiful Hymn, sung so sweetly by Angela Figel:

I can remember my 9 year old self standing outside at recess and singing this song to my friends! (Yes, I KNOW that's not normal, but that's the amazing connection with this video:  I found out I was not the only child who loved this hymn!) 

Ah, but it has been this little girl inside of ME, who has needed to pay attention to the Words.

JESUS LEADS ME WHERE HIS LIVING WATER FLOWS, AND GIVES ME ONLY THE EASY YOKE INSIDE OF THE BOUNDARIES THAT HIS HOLY SPIRIT DRAWS. 

Walking forward in this Journey, if I listen to HIS promptings,

the boundary lines can indeed be pleasant.

Even in the most trying of places, HE still carries the heavy part of our load Himself.