I am awakened by my two-year-old’s blood curdling cry around 2 A.M. Then again at 4 A.M. What is causing his sleeplessness? We don’t know but we think it’s night terrors. His sudden, inexplicable cries scream fear.
As I walk into his room and he recognizes me, he calms slightly. When I pick him up and carry him to the rocker, his body relaxes against my chest.
He exhales. The stress in his body dissipates.
I wonder, when was the last time I let my heavenly Father hold me like this? When did I last let my tension dispel into the arms of his loving embrace?
Exhale your worries and inhale His peace.
He is perfectly capable of keeping the planet spinning on its axis without our help. While one hemisphere sleeps, He is still God.
When we breathe in this truth, we find sweet freedom.
This post was written for Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday link-up. A beautiful, bold group of writers who meet each Friday to write about one word for five minute flat. No hyper-editting. No over thinking. Today’s word was: Exhale. Click the button below to learn more.
Fearfully Made Mom 
I must say again how awesome it is each Friday to find each of us writing along the same theme … not just the word prompt, but the very thing God points to when we start. I enjoyed your take, very similiar to mine and others. Isn’t God awesome to show us we are all in the same place?
Thank you.
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Yes, I love seeing how everyone comes together each week! It’s beautiful. Have a great holiday weekend and thank you for sharing your thoughts here.
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Stopping by from FMF. Thank you for sharing! I needed the reminder to slow down and breathe and just let God hold me and remind me it’s going to be okay.
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I needed that reminder this week too! Thank you for stopping by and have a great weekend.
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Such a great parallel here, Abby! “Exhale your worries and inhale His peace.” It’s true…if and when I can ever just exhale my worries, His peace inevitably comes. Thank you for the reminder! xoxo, mb
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Yes, it’s easier on some days than others, for sure. Thank you, Meredith, and hope you’re having a fantastic holiday weekend. Hugs, Abby
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I’ve struggled with anxiety in the past, and I’ve often coped with it using deep breathing exercises. Next time I am going to add this beautiful mantra—”Exhale your worries, inhale His peace”—to the exercise. What a perfect reminder it will be that God can be holding me in my toughest moments if I just let Him.
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You are such an encouragement to me, Katie. Thank you for your kind words today and I hope you had a great 4th of July with your family.
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“Exhale my worries, inhale His peace.” perfect. I read another post similar to this about Yahweh being the sound of breathing in and breathing out. So calming. And wonderful advice for any day. Great post. Hope your son gets over those night terrors. We never experienced that, but I know others who did and it was so unnerving. But there is such beauty in being able to make your children feel safe just by holding them.
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It’s true that there’s beauty in being able to hold them, Lisa, and I really enjoyed doing that because I don’t get to as often anymore. Last night went much better. I’d never heard that about Yahweh before. Thank you for sharing.
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