I remember holding my lifeless son. As he was pulled from my womb and placed on my chest, the paleness of his face and hands matched the creamy, white vernix on his skin. My husband said, with tears, it’s a boy! And I responded dry-eyed and heart contracting tightly, he’s not breathing. Life is a mysterious thing. All our learning, all our accumulated knowledge, and we still haven’t grasped the essence of it. We can hold all the ingredients of life in our hands, perfectly formed and just waiting for breath and there’s nothing we can do to make it live. The doctors politely asked if they could take my son from my chest and I eagerly passed the infant to them, touching him for the first time with reluctant hands. They looked desperately, professionally for any signs of life: no colour, no movement, no breathing, no response, no heartbeat... no? Yes! A barely detectable heartbeat. Life imperceptible, yet unstoppable, a heart barely audible, a hope of life. Minutes later, a little movement in the birdcage chest, a breath? Ironically, when life exists it is almost unstoppable! Dump a truckload of sand on your grassy verge, suffocating the grass, blocking the sun’s rays. Days pass, a week or two, and then surprise! Right at the top of the mountain of sand a shoot of green grass appears, life unstoppable, reaching for the sun. A newborn cry, weak, brief, but clearly audible. My son is alive! I say, with tears, it’s a boy! My husband, eyes shining, is mouthing silent prayers. Prayers of hope, prayers of thanks, prayers of utter dependence on the Giver of Life. Our son is ten years old. He is strong, fit and handsome. He defied the odds that day in hospital. The doctor admitted that he couldn’t help our son. Jed lost 60% of his blood in the birth process, his remaining few milliliters of blood turning acidic from the shock. His recovery was a miracle. Life unstoppable. Yes, the essence of life is a mystery. We cannot understand it, we cannot manufacture it. And yet we know the Source of it. We worship a God whose very breath issues forth life. He speaks a word and creation catches His breath, evolving in pursuit of what He’s said. The power of His breath - His words proved true by creation’s response. He speaks a word over darkness, and it is light. He speaks a word over emptiness and it is filled. He speaks a word over sickness and it is healed. He speaks a word over brokenness and it is whole. Of ultimate relevance and importance to us, is the news that life is available to us! Life flows from His mouth, through His Word. Jesus is His Word. The Holy Scriptures are His Word. The Word has had flesh put on it and been made visible. The Word has been encapsulated and made available. Life is available to us, and through us. Life is available to the world around us. When we hold a dream in our hands, when our hope lies heavily on our chest, still and lifeless, remember. Remember to breathe deeply and to catch His breath. When around you the world seems void and empty, when death is visible and life, imperceptible, breathe. Read His Word, and catch His breath. When the people around you are broken, and life is hanging on by a thread, take them to Jesus for the kiss of life. Yes, life is a mystery, but we know it’s Source. Always remember. And breathe.
