“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
As with any Sunday, I look forward to fellowshipping with my brothers and sisters in Christ. And while we received a wonderful word from one of our Reverends, it appeared to be a heaviness looming over us. As one saint said, “Things were a bit off”. As the worship leader, I forgot the regular flow of service. I sat down and few times just to get back up because I forgot something. It was truly one of those days! I do not know if we were tired being it was the day after the Christmas, or if we were simply preoccupied. Who knows what was going on, but we needed a reset. We needed to be present!
At some point in the service, I asked everyone to simply pause for a moment, close their eyes, and take a deep breath, and slowly exhale. We did this a few times while inviting GOD into our hearts and minds.
Sometimes, the things of this world can weigh heavy on us, turning into a burden, that we carry around with us from day to day. Consequently, we do not have the time, or take the time to work through things, so we learn to live with it. At times, it becomes too much! This is why I shared the blog a few weeks ago titled, “Giving yourself Space to make Space”, as it is OK to not be OK.
On yesterday I had to remind the congregation of this. As we took the deep breaths in and exhaled, we were silencing the noise around us to not only hear, but the feel the LORD.
While I am sure this small exercise did not lift everyone’s’ burdens, but for just a moment, we were able to release it all and fellowship as GOD intended when we enter into HIS house. It turned out to be a beautiful service.
We all have those days, and sometimes, taking a moment to exhale helps us reset to move forward. So, if you find yourself feeling overwhelmed take a moment and:
Close your eyes
Take a deep breath in
And EXHALE!
God bless you,
May you have a blessed and spirit filled week.
In His Service,
Reverend Marshall
Reverend Marshall is a Sexual Trauma Restorative Counselor. She helps survivors of sexual assault reclaim their lives by providing a pathway to emotional healing and restoration through spiritual counseling.