It's All Connected

This morning I woke up and forced myself to practice yoga.

I've had horrible allergies all week and anything physical has been torture, but i was determined to connect today.

Part of my lack of energy is coming from my disconnection to God and to my own breath.

So, I plopped down on a mat in the yoga room with my Bible and randomly selected a verse to meditate on.

But there is nothing random in the Spirit of God.

Isaiah 32:17

"The fruit of righteousness will be peace;
the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever."

I felt fragmented and disconnected through my entire practice and even since then.

But when I had finished I looked up the Hebrew definitions.

"The work that creates the right way will be wholeness; the labor and task of the right way will be rest, silence, calmness, safety and security."


And I've been chewing on those words all day. They keep rolling around in my head; striking at the little pieces of my existence. Everything that is fragmented in me has been pulling on the hope of wholeness.

About an hour ago I was in the backyard cleaning up dog poop (cause that's life people).

I was suddenly aware of how beautiful the day was.

So, I set aside my hard work and grabbed my mat.

I unrolled it on the patio by the pool and I practiced.

No, I mean I really practiced.

My mind connected to my body; my body connected to my breath; my breath connected to my spirit.

My heart opened towards the warmth of the sun and I was overwhelmed by the vastness and beauty of creation.

Have you ever noticed how huge and open the sky is?

No, have you ever stopped to look at it?

Have you ever been so caught up in the power and ability of the One who actually formed the sky; sculpted every tree; breathed into the clouds sweeping the sky; built the mountains with a Word; and placed us - small, and tiny, and fragile - in the very midst of it?

It was in this beautiful and surrendered moment that I caught the depth of Isaiah's words.

The way to wholeness and rest and silence and calmness and safety and security is the Right Way; THE WAY.

The Right Way is God's Way.

And the way to doing the right thing; to being connected to God, is in wholeness, rest, silence, calmness, safety and security.

This is utter dependence.

This is us - human, fragmented and disconnected.

This is a choice.

This is sitting still instead of rushing around.

This is meditating on the Word of God; waiting for the breeze of His response to awaken our dry and broken hearts.

This is simply breathing.

And breathing to the glory of God.

THIS is our work - to choose the Right Way; to allow ourselves to be humbled and corrected; to choose others over ourselves; to choose love over self defense; to choose hope over despair; to look into the eyes of the forgotten and despised with mercy and an outpouring of acceptance.

This is our challenge - let's be still and calm.

Let's pursue nothing short of wholeness.

Let's make our life's work the Right Way.

And let's all do it together; connected.

Mind to Body.

Body to Breath.

Breath to Spirit.