To God be the Glory

 

Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. ~Genesis 2:7

At this time last year, I had no earthly idea what my word for 2022 would be.  What becomes my one word is not one I consciously choose; it chooses me.  And this year is the same - no word has yet appeared, although I'm confident it will happen in God's good timing.

That's the way my one word, Breathe, came to be.  As some of you already know, I began 2022 in the hospital with acute pneumonia.  I was placed on oxygen for days, and even then, it was a struggle to get a deep, satisfying breath.  That simple, reflexive act that we engage in repeatedly without giving it a second thought became a laborious effort.  After I recover, I realize that I never want to take the miracle of my own breathing for granted again.  It truly is the gift of life from God.

As we're fast approaching Christmas, the very day last year when I begin to show some respiratory distress, I find myself suffering with PTSD.  I would never, ever want to experience such trauma again, nor would I wish such upon my worst enemy.  But like so many painful experiences we go through, we can't always understand what God's purpose is in all of it.  What is He encouraging us to see?  To acknowledge?  Why has this rotten thing even happened in the first place?  Is there a lesson here just waiting to be learned?  Turns out, there are many positive takeaways from the pneumonia experience that work together in giving me my one word for 2022:

• Kicking the smoking habit not only allows my lungs to heal and grow stronger, but I am honoring my body as God's temple.
• I am more prone to give thanks for the smallest of gifts.
• I cherish each moment and time spent with family more than I thought possible.
• And, I take nothing for granted even, and especially, the basic act of breathing.

I've also come to understand the solemn truth about our earthly existence - we are here because it's God's will for us to be here in this time and place.  He knows the plans He's made for us; He knows all our steps from the first to the last, and everything in between.  I'm positive that if I'd completed all the works He had for me to do at the time of my illness, He would have taken me home right then and there.

But He didn't.  God gave me a new lease on life, and a fresh appreciation for who He is, and all He has planned for me in the days to come.  I pray that as long or as brief those days might be, that my every breath will be taken in doing His will and walking in His ways, giving all glory to Him alone.

Amen!