When I was growing up I went to public school, except for first grade, when I went to school with all three of my siblings at Temple Christian in Redford, Michigan. My eldest brother was a senior, my sister was a junior and my other brother was in eighth grade. I am sure I would have been more of a mascot for all their friends if I wasn’t already so dang tall for a first grader. Still, I did receive a good bit of attention — certainly no one else in first grade drove to school with a senior on the basketball team. Sometimes much younger children have a hard time fitting in with their peers, as they’ve been exposed to the humor of the family and enjoy frequent outings past the bedtimes of most classmates. However, I must have had some friends, because my teacher, Miss Amy Boyd, taped my mouth shut for talking.

I don’t think you could do that today, even in a private school. But it was a memorable experience. The first time Miss Boyd ripped off the tape it hurt like the dickens. Subsequent tapings though were not as effective because I was wise to it. The trick was to move your mouth quite a bit while it was taped. This made removal relatively painless.

But guess what amps up sleep quality like nothing else I have experienced? Taping your mouth shut. Funny that in a weird twist of fate, my first grade teacher was on to something. It’s the breathing through your nose. The nights I tape my mouth shut with surgical tape, I wake up feeling more rested in the morning. Like a lot more rested. You can consciously breathe through your nose during the day, utilizing God’s built-in air filtration system, but most of us can’t do that while sleeping. Plus, it’s pretty hard, but not impossible, to snore through your nose.

Can focusing on breath really help you feel better? I believe it can. The older I get, the more I think “little” things matter. I believe fresh air, feet in the sand, and a little sunshine are healing too. God gave us lots of little gifts to enjoy and we honor Him by doing so — by soaking them up. Being still and breathing deeply are calming. Giving thanks brings joy. Sometimes the answers really are simple. But we don’t do them by default. Walking with God — abiding in Him — requires a daily and intentional commitment.

Rankin Wilbourne puts it like this in his book Union with Christ:

“[O]ne of the most challenging aspects of the Christian life — [is] the simple repetitiveness of it. Left, right, left, right. Again and again, over and over. All the way. Every day. Like a long walk uphill.”

Christina Rossetti has a poem that opens:

Does the road wind up-hill all the way?

Yes, to the very end.

We might prefer to fly. We may wonder if there are any shortcuts. And there are some, but once you find out what they are — humiliation and suffering — you’ll probably prefer to walk.”

It may be uphill all the way, but if you have sweet believing friends to make the trek alongside, reminding each other that the “simple repetitiveness” will end in glory beyond imagination, then it will seem less steep.

As Paul wrote to the Romans, let us “be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Romans 1: 12.

Blessings,

Kristie

P.S. If you tape your mouth shut, leave a little folded tab to enable quick removal should there be a need.