Inhale

All in this atmosphere

No fear, less tears, only time to catch my breath

I fail to inhale

Your love constricts my chest

      Leave it to P.O.D. to inspire me to write another blog. I was listening to the song "Satellite" and these lyrics really stood out to me. They grabbed me and pulled me in and I think these lyrics are a testament to an incredible concept. 

This life is nuts, quite literally. Two weeks ago I had a ten page paper due, I had to edit my other ten page paper I had to write this semester, I had a take-home exam that I had to spend somewhere in the ballpark of 6 hours on, I had an exam I needed to study for, all of these big projects were due within three days of each other. It felt like I was always running to catch up on some work or to finish some project or update something on the digital signs on campus or I had to study for a quiz or I had to do this that and the other thing. At times it felt like I never had any time to just sit back and catch my breath, I was ever-constantly moving, I was always working on something else, as soon as one big project was done, bam, the next one was plopped in my lap. Our lives get like this, we get so caught up in all these "things" that we have to do, all of these obligations and duties to classes, friends, work etc.. There were a couple of times I was on the verge of tears because everything just overwhelmed me it seemed like I never had any time to just breathe. The entirety of our lives here on earth is similar to that, we always seem to have something going on, don't we? How easy is it for us to put off prayer time or reading scripture or spending time with the Lord in adoration because we have "too much to do?" I'm just as guilty of it as anybody else. 

When I spend time with God, especially in adoration, it's like I'm not in the world, I'm outside of it, almost in another "atmosphere" to keep with the theme of the song. It gives me the chance to breathe, the time to sit and to re-connect, but, what really intrigues me about the lyrics to this song is the line, "I fail to inhale, Your love constricts my chest." What if when we're with the Lord, instead of having a chance to breathe and inhale, He took our breath away every single time? What if His love just overwhelmed us? Sure, maybe we didn't get that time to "catch our breath" because we were overwhelmed, not by the stresses of the world, but by the incredible Lover Who is with us. How phenomenal is that, it's like we're suspended in His love, it constricts us. Have you ever been hugged by somebody so tight that it made it hard to breathe? That's what it should be like every time we come into the presence of the Lord, but we don't experience it that way. What if God always wanted it to be that way? What if God always wanted to overwhelm us with His presence, but, we simply "weren't in the mood" or "were distracted by everything else" or wouldn't even go to be with Him? There's an adage that goes, "Life isn't measured by the number of breaths you take in, but by the moments that take your breath away." I think that really is true, and it should always be our Creator Who takes our breath away, because His love is so overwhelming that it feels like it's a bear-hug, constricting our chests. There is an incredible love just waiting for us, but, we overlook it far too often. I just want to be able to let His love overwhelm me and take my breath away, I don't need to catch my breath, I need to have it taken away.