I remember when I was in labor with my oldest son and it was a long, hard labor. I was not one of those super women who do this naturally. I wanted the drugs and as fast as they could give them to me. :-) But unfortunately the epidural did not work on me. It would numb parts of my body and the ones it wouldn't I would feel all of the labor pains even more intensely. It is 17 hours I will never forget as long as I live. Because of all the complications, my body was determined to not work correctly and after only dialating to 8 cm, my body thought it was time for me to have the baby which sent my son into fetal distress with his heart rate dipping into the 50's which for any of you who have had babies know this is very dangerous. Thankfully I had the best OBGYN and he had me into the operating room before I could blink, delivering my son via C-section and saving both of our lives. I remember though during those last couple of hours before delivering him that the pain was so very intense that I could not even think, talk or breathe. I had a nurse who was pretty tough but she literally never left my side during those hours. When I would start to hyperventilate, she would get right in my face and tell me to breathe. "Breathe through the pain, Candice," she would almost yell at me. And because of this I could snap back to breathing and not pass out. She probably had more to do with saving me than the doctor did at that moment.
There are so many times in our lives that painful things occur. Wether it is spousal problems, family issues, children, friends, or just life, sooner or later we deal with things that make us think the pain will kill us. And our first reaction to that pain most of the time is to retreat into our selves, seperate from others, basicallly we just won't figuratively breathe. We start to hyperventilate and think this is never going to end. What we don't realize is that this is just making the pain worse. We hold that pain inside of us until we pass out emotionally and mentally. When if we would just breathe through that pain, we could let go of it so much sooner.
I experienced this again just recently. I had been in a situation that had brought me both joy and grief. It had taught me to be happy again but was also weighing me down emotionally and mentally. I finally began to pray for God to break the hold in the situation. I didn't realize when God did this how much it would actually hurt. When God started changing the situation, I began to feel like I was losing something very special to me. Even though it had caused me pain, the pain of losing it was even worse. I remember standing in my bathroom and feeling the waves of emotional pain wash over me day after day. And then one day God brought back what had happened when I was in labor with my son. I simply felt the words, "Breathe through the pain, Candice." Tears came swift and fast but so did a peace that I had not had in many months. I was passing out emotionally from the pain of loss and God had to remind me to breathe again.
Whatever pain you might be dealing with in your life, remember to breathe. Literally and figuratively. You may not even realize what you are holding inside until you take that first big breath and let go of it. When you breathe literally, you release stress and tension you are holding in your body that can cause all kinds of physical problems. When you do this mentally, you will start to release that pain that has been emotionally tormenting you for far too long. God's desire for you is to have peace even in painful times.
One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 26:3-4. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength:" He promises if we will keep our minds on him and not on the pain of our situations, he will give us perfect peace. What a beautiful promise we can hold onto during apinful times in life.
So wherever you are today remember, breathe through the pain......You can make it and you will be stronger for it!
