“There are those who say fate is something beyond our command. That destiny is not our own, but I know better. Our fate lives within us, you only have to be brave enough to see it.”——Merida from Brave

These wise words spoken by the wide-eyed and arrow shooting Disney heroine Merida ring with so much truth. I recently watched this movie with my girls and I was so struck and inspired by these last lines from the movie(especially when said in a great Scottish accent). Merida is strong, confident, and as fiery and passionate as her untamed curly red locks. She knows how to breathe in life and doesn’t want to settle for something that will leave her feeling tied down and lifeless. She wants to roam free, spread her wings, and fly through life. She knows the course she wants and she bravely goes after it (albeit defying her mother’s wishes—-which I definitely explained to my girls is NOT something I want them to do & Lord willing it won’t happen…but let’s be honest, it will. That’s life…).

I love Merida for these reasons. If I’m honest, I even like the fact that she’s strong enough to stand up for what she wants even if it is in defiance to her mom.

Do you feel brave enough to face your fate, your future, your dreams? Do you breathe in life wholeheartedly like Merida or are you sitting still in a field of wildflowers not even noticing the spectacular beauty all around you?

Where do you need to take in more deep breaths? Even if you are doing lots of great things and surrounded by lots of great people, if you are not breathing in life you are squelching your life instead.

So, I have a small atrium that I have been trying to add life to on a zero dollar budget. I have a small shelf with some cute pots on it. Three pots which once contained three different types of flowers. All three of these flowers are now dead. I think I’ve actually killed about six different potted flowers or plants within about a 5 month time period. Not very good numbers there, my friends. Au revoir beautiful smelling lavender & once happy looking limoncello petals.

I think I know what I was doing wrong. I was watering them too much. Water is a good thing, right? And, it’s so hot right now, so don’t they need extra water? Nope. Apparently not.

I read the following information from a plant website:

“The roots of the plant take up water but they also need air to breathe. Over-watering, in simple terms, drowns your plant. Soil that is constantly wet won’t have enough air pockets and the roots can’t breathe. Roots that can’t breathe are stressed roots.”

Ahhh! This totally makes sense. Even too much of a good thing like water, can make something (or someone) feel like they are suffocating in life. We need to breathe. We need our roots to flourish not be tangled in stagnant water. We need God to show us where the space or place is in our lives that is stressing us out—–and take some deep, life-giving breathes.

Maybe we need a loved one to help us have the space and time to breathe. (Shout out to my dear friend & mentor mama Jana—who is my girls’ Nana by heart not by blood. She offered to have a special lunch & swim date with my sweet girlies yesterday so that I could take some depth breathes. Love you, Jana!)

Maybe we need to get out and go on a run. Maybe we need to drive down to the beach and stick our toes in the sand and breathe in the glorious salty air. Maybe we need to bake something; to eat something; to drink in some dreamy landscapes or architecture; to get lost in a good book; or to plant your own lavender and limoncello.

Please take time to breathe, my friends, because the alternative is just not acceptable. Let’s be brave enough to see the fate that lies within us like Merida. We can only bloom where we are planted if we are fully able to breathe in our blessings —-and the living water of our lives can freely flow not drown us out.

And, after we’re breathing in a healthy rhythm again, how can we help someone around us who needs some air? What life-giving thing can we do for them?