Just Breathe

One of my favorite songs at the moment is "Breathe" by Jonny Diaz.

"I'm busy, busy, busy, and it's not surprise to see that I only have time for me, me, me. There's gotta be something more to this crazy life; I'm hanging on tight to another wild day when it starts to fall apart, in my heart I hear You say: 'just breathe, just breathe. Come and rest at My feet and be, just be. Chaos calls but all you really need is to take it in, fill your lungs. The peace of God that overcomes. Just breathe. So let your weary spirit rest, lay down what's good and find what's best. Just breathe.'"

I've become known among my friends, coworkers and peers as someone who has no issue doing something by himself. I never really thought much about it, thinking that everybody was like this, until recently.

Saturday, I was talking to my girlfriend about a concert Sunday night I wanted to go to, but nobody else wanted to/was able to go, so I had decided I would just go by myself. Her response was: "You like doing things by yourself. It doesn't bother you."

When she said this, I agreed, thinking that everybody liked doing things by themselves.

But then when I was at church Sunday, I was talking to an old family friend about her daughter, and she said: "Yeah, see, like you enjoy going out, not caring what anybody thinks. If you want to do something, you just do it, whether you'll know someone or not. She's not like that. She won't go somewhere unless she feels comfortable because she knows she will at least know somebody."

That's when it really hit me that not everybody is like me, and that not everybody really enjoys doing things by themselves. Clearly, I knew that not everybody is like me - but I guess I had just naively assumed that everybody enjoyed doing things by themselves sometimes.

I've gone to lunch, dinner, movies, coffee-shops, bookstores, and so many other things by myself, not thinking anything of it. Silly me, I assumed that everybody did this at least occasionally.

From personal experience, I enjoy having hours, and sometimes entire days, to myself, where I can do what I want, when I want. I find it therapeutic, and I think everybody really needs some R&R every once in a while. It's one of the best ways for me to just breathe, to realign my life and lay all my chaos at the feet of my Father.

Like last night at the concert. I was heading over, and I was really looking forward to the concert, whether anybody could come with me or not. I had decided it was just going to be a time of worship between me and God - a much needed time of worship. A re-connection, if you will, because I love worshiping, but hadn't been to a place where I could worship by myself. At church, I'm usually surrounded by friends or family, but that night, as far as I knew it would just be me, surrounded by thousands of strangers, and my God. I was ready for a solo re-connection.

The concert was one of the best I've ever attended, and I could feel God in the crowd. It was absolutely amazing.

Going by myself (and eventually meeting up with my best friend at the concert) was an incredible experience. And you want to know why? Because I had no inhibitions. I could fully worship my God.

Sometimes I know that I can get a little 'embarrassed' to worship, thinking "what is so-and-so going to think of me?", so I don't sing really loud, raise my hands, or truly worship. But last night, I didn't care. I was in a crowd of 10,000+ people where I only knew about 5 people, and only 1 of them was with me. And I truly worshiped.

It was incredible.
It was rejuvenating.
It was inspiring.

I loved every minute of it.

I've come to realize that sometimes the best way to find true worship is to fly solo. To go it alone, spending time in your thoughts, in your prayers and with your God. It's so fulfilling. There are so many distractions in life that it's easy to forget about adding God into the mix. And that's a horrible feeling, when you think about it. You shouldn't have to "add God" into your life - He should be a permanent staple in your life.

But, it's inevitable that sometimes life will become busy and God can be put on the bench, just waiting to come into play. He's waiting for us to reconnect with him. I truly believe that taking time where you have no plans except to worship - whether it's self-reflection, prayer, or true worship with song -  can really help you realign your priorities.

That's what I found last night at the concert, where I was singing my heart out, lifting my praise to God, raising my arms and worshiping!

It was unreal, and I advise anybody who needs to reconnect with God to go somewhere alone, whether it's a concert, a book store or a coffee shop. Just go somewhere by yourself where you can marvel at the majesty that is our great God.

Because, for me at least, that's the best way to reconnect with God when life gets hectic. It's the best way to remember that God is there with you through it all, when chaos comes, when stress is on the rise, when everything falls apart.

Taking a little time for yourself to spend time with God is a wonderful thing. It'll help you calm down, rest and get through another day.

It'll help you just breathe.