Breathing Deeply

In this week's lectionary lesson, Sidney Fowler translates Psalm 51:

“We close our eyes and breathe deeply.
We exhale ways that choked us from life in God’s spirit.
We inhale the new, the fresh, God’s spirit.
We open our eyes and breathe deeply. Before us is the new day.
Give us the joy of life renewed in you, O God.
Keep us vigilant. Teaching, defending, living your way.
We breathe deeply."

It's the breathing I'm finding difficult.
Pain from the surgery (especially the lymph node sites) seems to draw the wind out of my body. Ice packs help but there's no comfortable sleeping position. Too-shallow breathing is all my body will do without conscious effort. The tightening muscles, shortness of breath and arm numbness give me the strange sense that I'm no longer inhabiting my own body. I no longer recognize its feel. Perhaps the fatigue is from my body's lack of oxygen.

The Psalmist knew the truth--breathing can be difficult.