I live in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. I have lived here most of my life, growing up in Oregon and now residing a few hours north in the state of Washington. It's a beautiful part of the country, known for picturesque coastlines, lush forests, green valleys, snow-capped mountains, rivers, high deserts, painted hills, farms, orchards, and agricultural fields, along with rain and crisp, clean air. The rain creates much of the area's beauty, and in the regions west of the Cascade Mountains, we get a lot of it. Sometimes we wonder if summer will ever arrive, and often it doesn't until after the 4th of July. We enjoy blue skies and sunshine for two months, and then the rain usually returns about this time of year, mid to late September.

This year our summer was cut a bit short due to a Labor Day windstorm that pulled smoke from wildfires in the east into our western valleys. The strong winds also knocked out power and started a fire less than ten miles from our home. The wind carried the fire quickly and swirled more smoke into the air. Heroic firefighters were able to contain the fire and keep it from reaching our town, but many fires in Oregon and California have been too large to stop, sending more smoke our way that filled our skies. It looks like a foggy, overcast day that completely blocks the sun. But it's not clouds; it's smoke that makes it difficult to breathe. We've been advised to stay indoors as much as possible and wear the highest grade of masks if we must go out. Weather forecasters say we need two things to get the thick smoke layer out of our skies: rain and wind, and hopefully we will get some tomorrow. (Prayers please!)

 

 

If you live near any wildfires right now, you know that feeling of stepping outside, unable to take a breath of fresh air. And during this time of COVID-19, you've likely experienced the same if you've had symptoms of the virus or worn a mask. Breathing is one of those things that's easy to take for granted, until we can't do so normally, and then we realize how vital it is to our being.

But this isn't a blog about fires or the pandemic. I'm concerned about your health and air quality wherever you are, but even more so I wonder: Do you ever feel like it's hard to breathe--not from an illness or your physical surroundings, but in life? Has oppression or trials or relationships or anything else ever hindered your ability to make it through a day, a week, a year? You may feel that way about 2020. Isolation, loneliness, stress, fear, boredom, strained relationships... It's a tough time for a lot of people, and if you're one of them, you're not alone. But even without a pandemic, life can be so challenging, heartbreaking, and confusing.

As I was thinking about the weather forecast and hoping for the much needed rain and a bit of wind to blow the smoke out of here, I thought of how we need the same spiritual "elements" to refresh and restore us when life gets tough. Jesus said to the woman at the well who was weary of life and deprived of love, "If you knew the gift of God and who I am, you would ask me and I would give you living water." (John 4:10) He was offering her more than a drink of water that could quench her thirst, He was offering her a new kind of life of spiritual abundance and freedom.

Later when Jesus was preparing His disciples for His departure from this world, He promised to send the Holy Spirit. "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth...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 14:16-17, 27) 

 

The "Holy Spirit" can also be translated as the Holy Breath (or Breeze) of God. He is our source of life, the very air we breathe to give us spiritual aliveness--resurrection from the things that bring us down and make us feel lost, defeated, or overwhelmed.

I am currently praying for rain and a nice breeze to restore our beautiful state and give us clean air to breathe once again. But I constantly pray for something else even more. For your spiritual life to be overflowing with the love of God--the living water that will satisfy your soul, and the holy whispers of truth that will lead you to places of peace, restoration, and joy.

 

 

 

 

John 4:10, paraphrase mine.