A Breathing Road Trip

I made a road trip over the weekend. I drove to Jacksonville, Florida, both to visit my grandmother who is in rehab and to spend Mother’s Day with my mom who was visiting her mother who is in rehab. In preparation for the trip, I purchased three new audio books. The book I chose to listen to first was, “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier,” by Ishmael Beah…

Shortly arriving in Jacksonville on Saturday, I went to the rehabilitation center where my grandmother is staying. After walking to the far end of the center, I arrived in her room to see her sitting in her wheelchair smiling at me, her hair flat on her head. In my 33 years of life, G-mama has never worn her hair flat on her head! It startled me at first because it made her look so different, yet I like it. I think the style looks very good on her.

G-mama is sharing a room with a woman named Dolly. If you’ve ever read, “The Shack,” then picture the image of God that the author portrays and you will have a pretty good physical image of Dolly. Dolly is a 76 year old African American woman who has emphysema. There is nothing that can be done for her, yet she is living the remainder of her days as well as she can—being the teacher that she inevitably was and mentoring church members on how to teach children various Bible studies and books of the Bible when asked. Dolly has a stockpile of graham crackers and other food in her bottom drawer, and she loves to eat. Today before I left, after G-mama commented that she wasn’t hungry, Dolly said, “I look forward to the day when I’m not hungry. I clean my plate every meal and then usually look for more!”

Dolly almost died last night. Her family had come to visit for Mother’s Day and they had taken her outside for a visit. When she got back to the room, she couldn’t catch her breath. After using her inhaler and beginning a nebulizer treatment, she still couldn’t breathe. She called for the nurse and he immediately came to help her. I don’t know what he did because he pulled the curtains for privacy. Whatever it was, he helped her pull through, and she and G-mama passed the night together in their room.

Watching Dolly try to breathe was painful--even when she wasn't having an emergency. Her not being able to catch her breath made me grateful that I could. I think of dreams from which I’ve awoken gasping for breath and I imagine how frightening it must feel not to be able to breathe in the very breath that gives us life…

As I listened to my book today, I frowned in horror as I heard the story of soldiers purposefully burying their enemies alive. I imagine how awful it must have been for the prisoners not to be able to breathe…and I find myself taking deep, deep breaths…maybe like you are doing now.

In the beginning, God breathed life into this world. It was God’s breath that brought life to humankind and it is that same breath that sustains us today. May we never take this breath of life for granted and may we use each breath of our lives to be present in things that really matter…like road trips to see our grandmothers and mothers and doing what we can to make them smile.