Three Deep Breaths

Naomi always prided herself on pushing through. Deadlines, family emergencies, church events—if something needed doing, she muscled her way through it. But her body started sending notices: tight chest, headaches, random tears.

A friend handed her a book on mindful self‑compassion and said, “Try this. You can’t bully yourself into peace.” Naomi rolled her eyes but read it anyway.

One practice stuck: pause for three slow breaths whenever stress spikes, and add one kind sentence to yourself. The first time she tried it was in the car after a tense meeting. She exhaled and whispered, “You did the best you could with what you knew.”

It felt strange, almost indulgent. Yet as the days went by, those three breaths became tiny altars. In the grocery store line, on hold with insurance, after a hard phone call—inhale, exhale, kind word.

She realized she had never learned how to be gentle with herself while still trusting God. This practice became a bridge. Instead of seeing self‑compassion as weakness, she saw it as agreement with how God already viewed her: loved, in process, not a lost cause.

Now, when people ask how she’s managing so much, she smiles and says, “One deep breath and one kind thought at a time.” Small, quiet acts of mercy in the middle of just doing life.