A Breath of Fresh Air

I recently began a new devotional series called "14 Days of Fresh Air"  via my YouVersion Bible App on my phone.  Totally cliche, I know.  But for right now the budget is tight, and I needed a study that was free.  Time is tight, I needed a study that was flexible to my schedule.  This sounded perfect.

Yesterday was "Day 2" and I can't tell you how glad I am to have read it.

I am certain we have all, at some time, discussed "toxic people".  These are the people who are emotionally, physically, financially and sometimes spiritually draining.  They are time stealers, they are full of negativity, they may cause you to compromise your values, they burn your ears with gossip, and they are really hard to set boundaries with.

Experts and well meaning people will tell you to limit your contact with them, they may even tell you to remove them from your life completely.  We can get so wrapped up with these toxic people that they begin to invade our lives even when they are not around.  We talk about them to others, sometimes out of a need to vent and sometimes out of genuine advice seeking.

Toxic things have a way of enveloping us and follow us where we go.  As a mom, I recall once being out when the baby spit up and some missed the burp cloth.  Even though I immediately went to the restroom and cleaned it off to the best of my ability, there was this smell that just lingered about me.  Perhaps it was in my head, because I knew what had just happened.  Or, perhaps my friends were just being kind when they told me that they couldn't smell anything at all.  Regardless, I could smell it in the air around me.  Toxic people can be like this, they can linger in our lives even after we remove (or limit) their influence on our lives. 

When we are confronted with something toxic, our natural instinct is to want to get away from it.  However sometimes that just isn't enough. If this toxin is in the form of an illness, we seek out medication to treat it.  In the case of a smell, we seek out fresh air.   It helps us truly purge that toxin from our body, and our senses.

When the toxin is a person, it is hard enough just to get to the point of setting boundaries or ending the relationship.  Then, as Christians, we become consumed with guilt.  We begin to question if we did the right thing, we ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?".  And so we linger in this toxin, long after it is gone.  And, occasionally, we return to it after time has passed.  In a faint attempt in hope that it would be better, or they would have seen the error of their ways and changed.  Creating a toxic circle.

We never get to that step of truly purging our self of that toxic relationship by replacing it with fresh air.  We become too acquainted with misery, that we would rather have toxic friends/family than have no friends/family at all.  Our insecurity of being alone makes us cling to something vs. the risk of having nothing.

We need to breathe in a breath of fresh air into our lives.  We need to purposely seek out a person or persons to be that fresh air.  You can recognize "Fresh Air People" because they are the ones who cheer you up, cheer you on.  They are the people who support you, check in on you, and greet you with a smile.  They don't wallow in pity with you, but help lift you out of the pit.  This doesn't mean that they don't care about you, aren't willing to be with you as you struggle, or make light of your troubles.  But they are the people who walk with you through it, they don't hold you into it, and they will often help you out of it.

To quote the study, "There's something, some quality in certain people and their attitudes, that can transform any environment into a magnetic, life-giving, enjoyable place to be."  "People who seem genuine and down to earth, glad that you're there and eager to offer you their hospitality."


Pray that God will reveal these people to you, so that you can breathe fresh air into your life.

In 2 Timothy, Chapter 1, the apostle Paul reflects on Onesiphorus.  The greek word that Paul used to describe Onesiphorus literally means "to put breath back in, to recover breath".  The devotional described Onesiphorus as emotional CPR to Paul, breathing in encouragement and inspiration.

Don't we all need a little Heart to Heart Respiration?