Breathe In, Breathe Out

Tonight several people from church were sitting around the Wards’ kitchen table discussing the idea of using secular songs in church services. There are so many songs I hear on my favorite rock stations every day that really speak to me. I don’t always know what the artist’s intentions were, but certain lyrics speak to me regardless.

A song I’ve heard a lot lately and really love is “Breathe In, Breathe Out” by Mat Kearney. I don’t know the real meaning behind the song, but whenever I hear it, I hear a conversation between someone and God. I’m going to type the lyrics out here, in script form, to show you what I mean.

God: Breathe in, breathe out. Tell me all of your doubts. Everybody bleeds this way, just the same. Breathe in, breathe out. Move on and break down. If everyone goes away, I will stay.

Other Person: We push and pull, and I fall down sometimes. But I’m not letting go; you hold the other line. ‘Cause there is a light in your eyes, in your eyes.

God: Hold on, hold tight, if I’m out of your sight and everything keeps moving on, moving on. Hold on, hold tight, make it through another night; in every day there comes a song with the dawn.

Other Person: We push and pull, and I fall down sometimes. But I’m not letting go; you hold the other line. ‘Cause there is a light in your eyes, in your eyes.

God: Breathe in and breathe out… Breathe in and breathe out… Look left, look right, to the moon and the night—

Other Person: Everything under the stars is in your arms. ‘Cause there is a light in your eyes, in your eyes.

This song just says so much to me. When I hear it, I feel like God is telling me, “Hey, I know things are rough sometimes. I know you have doubts. Take a deep breath, a few if you have to, and look at me. Tell me all about it; yell and cry if you need to-- I'm here. I’m here even when everything seems crazy and confusing, even when you feel like you can’t see me anywhere. Things are going to get better. Look around you, and you’ll see me.”

And the lines I’ve attributed to the person having the conversation with God sound a lot like I do sometimes. “There are times when I want to go one direction and you want me to go another, and there are times when I just fall flat on my face. But even when life is a struggle, I’m not turning away and I know you’re holding onto me. You’re in control and I can trust you. When everything else is bleak, I look to you and see light.”

While I love the whole song, there are a couple lines in particular that are especially significant to me in my own struggles. "If everyone goes away, I will stay" reminds me that no matter how rough things get, no matter how much pain I am in, even if there is no one else for me to lean on, God will stay. He's not running from me. He's there and he loves me, unconditionally. The other line is, "Look left, look right, to the moon and the night. Everything under the stars is in your arms." It feels like the first part is God saying "Look around you," and the last part is the realization I have when I do-- that it's all in his arms.