As Easy As Breathing...

As Easy As Breathing...

(The following was taken from a family newsletter we did in 2003)


The emotion of it hit me when Alan made the announcement, “Today we have been blessed to have Anna with us for 15 years.” He then led us in prayer both acknowledging the Heavenly Father for His goodness for LIFE, and thanking Him for Anna's special purpose in our lives. It was then I remembered the trachea tube that went down her throat and the machine that would act as a mechanical breathe. We all knew that these interventions had nothing to do with the final decision of her life, but they allowed us time to stop as we faced death, not just of a child, but of our own ideas also.


During this time of standing between life and death, the Heavenly Father spoke clearly to Alan's heart, “I want you to die, not her.” We all understood what He was asking for, it was death to all our independence, dreams, and concepts that hindered what He longed to do through our lives. We had to die, so that HE could live through us.


We accepted the death sentence to our own hearts, and watched in awe as our little girl was given the gift of breath when the machines were all pulled away. Our lives would never be the same again.

Breathing is more than something you do, it's an act of receiving what is given.

“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." Gen. 2:7


Death both touches and awakens the eternal part of our being and makes this life seem so temporary. There seems to be something very vital in understanding our end. David wrote, “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the extent of my days. Let me know how transient I am. Behold, Thou hast made my days as hand breadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.” Ps. 39: 4,5


The understanding of this gift called breathing also comes in different phases in our life. We recently took a trip to visit some new friends, and one of the things they shared was, “We were so blessed by how your family all ministered to and cared for Anna.” This statement brought the realization that caring for Anna was so easy, like taking our next breath; then I remembered how it was not always this way.


In the earlier years there were sleepless nights, unanswered questions, and limitations that some of my other children struggled with. It was like the contraction part of labor, where you learned to breathe with the pain. This phases of breathing was necessary, just like an experienced runner presses on to the goal, in spite of the pain and shortness of breath, for the prize set before him.


There is something very precious about the seasons in our lives when our breathing is more labored. Something very insightful happens during these times when we are weary, and we have to take another breath before we take the next step.


We come to understand our weaknesses as human beings, and this sets us up for receiving what the Father provides in the midst of our labors, pains, and disappointments. We are forced during theses times to stop and BE STILL and KNOW that He is God. This transforms breathing into daily gifts given, and makes the simple things of life mean so much more.

Those who die in Jesus live a larger, fuller, nobler life, by the very cessation of care, change, strife, and struggle.

~Alexander Maclaren