pray. breathe. recite.

This post was originally published over at More to Be several years ago when I was a contributing writer on that site. I'm breaking it out of the archives hoping it will bless you today. Enjoy! 

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​It was one of those mornings. I was running late, my hair was frizzy from the rain and awful humidity by just 8:45am, and the voice message I received wasn’t a good one. I was already disappointing someone, I could tell.

Sigh. 
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It was a rough morning, and I could tell the day wasn’t going to get any better. I hated walking into this building, working in this space; this building, it’s where my attitude was negative, the Lord felt distant, and some of the people, well, they weren’t my favorite (just sayin’). I was about to spiral down, down, down into a place where negativity turned my perspective ugly, selfish, and tainted.

And that’s when I was reminded.

Isn’t it just like the Lord? Just when we get comfortable in our routine, in our funk, He snaps us out of it, using the words of someone we love or showing us a quote to cut through with deep truth. He boils up His Word, the words we memorized years earlier. At just the right time. His time.
And that morning as I approached that building, I felt Him remind me:

PRAY. BREATHE. RECITE. 

And so I did. I stopped. Completely stopped in the middle of the dirt path that led from the parking lot to the building. And I prayed. I asked Him to come quickly, to come near, to change me, to hold me, to clothe me.

And then I breathed. Deeply. I filled my lungs with the fresh oxygen that surrounded me. There’s something about a deep breath that just lifts my mood, fills my soul, draws Him nearer. And too often I forget to pause and reach for the bottom of my lungs. That morning He reminded me, and it added to the transformation of my mood.

And then I recited the words of truth that were spoken to me months earlier by a dear mentor of mine. She reminded me that true joy, joy that radiates and changes and hopes, it comes from the Lord, and that all else is fleeting. That all my days could be encapsulated in joy when I resided with Him, abide in Him.

Psalm 16:11

. . . in your presence is fullness of joy . . .

AND SO, IN HIS PRESENCE IS WHERE I WANTED MY DAY TO BEGIN.

And the frizzy hair and that voicemail? I happened to forget all about it. They melted away with that deep breath and the truth spoken.
In just a few moments, my day turned towards the Son, just as the sun was starting to peek out from behind the morning clouds. I didn’t spiral down into self-pity, loathing, or funk.

He rescued that day, and many many since.

It’s not always easy, but digging deep with Him in the morning, remembering to invite Him in, dwell with Him, breathe deeply of Him, that’s when my days are sure to bring joy all around.

What do you do when you’re tempted to spiral in the wrong direction with your attitude?