^“He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

Joshua 4:24

My friend, Kathy, is living with ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a progressive disease that affects nerve cells.

Recently, I shared what I know of both the loss and the joy my friend is experiencing because of the disease. Today, I’m sharing her most recent blog post here. Please read it and be encouraged and blessed. I know it will draw you to selah when you consider the verse from Joshua that she has chosen as the foundation for her writings.

Breathe

Breathe. We all do it. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Without thinking. If we don’t, we die.

Webster defines breathe as: to take air into the lungs and then expel it, especially as a regular physiological process.

This week I’ve been thinking about breathing more than normal. Why? Because it’s getting harder for me. to. breathe.

My particular form of ALS attacks the upper body and affects my swallow, speech and breathing. These are all things that most of you never give thought to; they are almost automatic. I think about it more that I used to.

I can’t walk to the back of our property without becoming winded. I can’t speak a whole sentence for lack of breath.

I used to pause on top of the gravel pit and breathe in the changing seasons; I would crush lavender every time walked in the garden and breathe deeply of its fragrance. I never imagined what life would be like without breathing.

The other day I came across an entry from my journal from April 9, 2013:

“O God, my passion is to be used by you, Whatever it is that you want me to do, Lord, send it to me. Make me walk in your ways, because you know the number of my days; how fleeting my life is. The span of my years is as nothing before you. My life is but a breath. Lord I want to BREATHE FOR YOU.”

That’s the cry of my heart again. However long the Lord may allow me to live, may I breathe in His sweet spirit and breathe out His love.

This hymn from my childhood is stuck in my head:

“Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew,

that I may love the way you love, and do what you would do.”

Children! Keep Breathing! Remember He gave His last breath to offer you salvation. Breathe for Him.

Therefore, I lay down the stone “ breathe” as a reminder how fleeting our days are.

Kathy is a former midwife, homeschooler and organic farmer. She writes about her journey and her faith here, at stones424.wordpress.com.