“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30 (NIV)
The other day, my 10 year old daughter came home with a backpack so heavy, she couldn’t barely drag it a few footsteps to the kitchen counter for me to look at its contents. I picked it up. GOOD GRIEF! That thing weighed a ton. Well, maybe not a ton, but I put it on the scale and it did way 25% of my little girl’s total body weight! This wasn’t the first time my husband and I have had discussions about this crazy backpack. Just the day before Dan watched in amazement as she lifted the backpack to her shoulder and spun around 3 times before she could balance the weight. When she finally did, she couldn’t stand upright. He had to chuckle a bit despite his disgust at his precious little girl having to carry such a load. The decision was made that the next day I would go find her a backpack with wheels.
Rather than make her carry that load to school the next morning, I removed two heavy books and a recorder (for music class). I sent a note to her teacher explaining the situation and asked that she be able to share books with another student if necessary that day. I thought Lauren would be thrilled when she lifted the bag to find it 5 pounds lighter. WRONG! She fought for the weight. “But Mom, we need those books! I have to have my recorder! If I don’t leave it in my backpack, I’ll forget it on music class day. It will affect my grade! NO! I need them!” She actually fought to carry the load. I really had to stick to my guns. I just couldn’t let her carry it. She might hurt herself! Something was wrong with this picture.
I didn’t get it until I realized that Lauren is a lot like me. I carry a load much heavier than necessary all the time: guilt, anxiety, fear, judgment, a schedule hurried for the tasks that I’m certain must be completed to please others and even God. I pack more and more into my bag until I walk through life hunched under the weight I've placed on my own shoulders. All the while, God is saying, “Let me take that. I have a much lighter load for you. It’s easy to carry.” My response? “No! I might need that today. Someone, maybe even you, might be disappointed if I don’t complete that task. If I don’t worry about tomorrow’s provision, who will?”
The difference is that Father God doesn’t demand that he lighten my load. If I choose to, he’ll let me carry it; gently urging all the while, “Come to me Heather. You’re weary and burdened. I’ll give you rest. Take my ‘pack’ on your shoulders. Learn from me. Find rest for your soul. My pack is easy and my burden is light.” Until wearily, with strained and soar muscles, I willingly come to Him and place my pack at His feet.
(from Matthew 11:28-30)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Gray Days
“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Have you ever had a gray day? How about a gray week? You know, when the skies aren’t black, but they are simply drearily gray. That’s the kind of week I just had. The clouds rolled in on Monday morning. Not literal gray clouds. I’m talking about the clouds that roll into your heart and mind, sinking deep into your spirit. News came that the long reaching fingers of the sinking economy had alas grasped hold of the company my husband works for. His position was safe, but 49 others were not, including two of his employees. We were heart broken as we sat together with tears and prayed.
That morning seemed to set the tone for the week ahead. My husband had to deal with the emotional strain of walking through the details of Monday’s news. My girlfriend’s baby was rushed to the ER. Another friend lost his job. Each day had its own various shade of gray, but each was gray none the less. By Saturday we just needed to get out of the house. We needed some sunshine. Unfortunately the weather had decided to join in and provide a backdrop of dreary, drizzly rain.
Have you ever faced a Sunday after a week like this and wished that you could just stay in bed? Its times like these I find myself tempted to isolate myself and take a day off. It’s a good thing we’re involved in our church. It forces us to get up and go, even when we don’t feel like it. So this week, although we wanted to stay in our cozy, warm bed and hide, we got up and went to church. I am so glad we did. We went to worship together with our “family”. Just the thought of it brings a feeling of comfort to my heart. After services, we had the joy of spending the afternoon in our home with a group of friends talking about the Lord, sharing our lives and praying together. What a blessing.
Somewhere in the midst of that day, our gray skies began to clear and our dispostion changed. The situations and circumstances in our lives were the same, but they no longer consumed us. We knew it was the day of worship together with others that made a difference.
The next time you wake up on a Sunday morning feeling discouraged with the temptation to stay isolated, let me encourage you not to give in to that temptation. The author of Hebrews knew what he was talking about when he said that we should not give up meeting together with the body of Christ. We are here to encourage each other. We need each other. There is something about joining together that lightens the load and brightens our outlook.
Thank you to my “family”. You brightened my day!
Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
Have you ever had a gray day? How about a gray week? You know, when the skies aren’t black, but they are simply drearily gray. That’s the kind of week I just had. The clouds rolled in on Monday morning. Not literal gray clouds. I’m talking about the clouds that roll into your heart and mind, sinking deep into your spirit. News came that the long reaching fingers of the sinking economy had alas grasped hold of the company my husband works for. His position was safe, but 49 others were not, including two of his employees. We were heart broken as we sat together with tears and prayed.
That morning seemed to set the tone for the week ahead. My husband had to deal with the emotional strain of walking through the details of Monday’s news. My girlfriend’s baby was rushed to the ER. Another friend lost his job. Each day had its own various shade of gray, but each was gray none the less. By Saturday we just needed to get out of the house. We needed some sunshine. Unfortunately the weather had decided to join in and provide a backdrop of dreary, drizzly rain.
Have you ever faced a Sunday after a week like this and wished that you could just stay in bed? Its times like these I find myself tempted to isolate myself and take a day off. It’s a good thing we’re involved in our church. It forces us to get up and go, even when we don’t feel like it. So this week, although we wanted to stay in our cozy, warm bed and hide, we got up and went to church. I am so glad we did. We went to worship together with our “family”. Just the thought of it brings a feeling of comfort to my heart. After services, we had the joy of spending the afternoon in our home with a group of friends talking about the Lord, sharing our lives and praying together. What a blessing.
Somewhere in the midst of that day, our gray skies began to clear and our dispostion changed. The situations and circumstances in our lives were the same, but they no longer consumed us. We knew it was the day of worship together with others that made a difference.
The next time you wake up on a Sunday morning feeling discouraged with the temptation to stay isolated, let me encourage you not to give in to that temptation. The author of Hebrews knew what he was talking about when he said that we should not give up meeting together with the body of Christ. We are here to encourage each other. We need each other. There is something about joining together that lightens the load and brightens our outlook.
Thank you to my “family”. You brightened my day!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Caught Unprepared
"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut." Matthew 25:10 (NIV)
I've lived in Northern VA for 3 1/2 years now. I love this area, especially having 4 distinct seasons. They did however, take a little getting used to for this CA girl. My first winter here, I discovered that as soon as the weather man suggests the tiniest bit of snowfall, everyone must make a mad dash for the grocery store to stock up on bread, milk, and any other essentials. I have to admit, I joined the mad dash. After a year or so, I realized that this was simply crazy. Come on! A dusting of snow isn't going to keep us from the store. It's not like we live in Alaska or North Dakota and are going to be snowed in for a week. Good grief! We have pretty mild winters here. So I relaxed a bit. I no longer run out to the store at the first warning of a storm. Besides, I usually have enough here to hold us over for a couple of days.
So Saturday, when I heard that there was going to be snow on Sunday, did I respond? Of course not. Did I care that this time they were calling for up to 8 inches? Yea right! I don't think we've had 8 inches of snow accumulate over the entire last year. I got up Sunday morning and went to church as usual. After church, we went out to dinner with some friends. (I just have to add that it was such a blessed and wonderful visit.) Then, while the kids played I took a nap on the couch. RELAX! Right? At about 5:30 we went to deliver my daughter's girlfriend back home on the other side of town. It was a nice family outing as the snow began to fall. Now, I knew that we were running low on milk and a few other things to make actual meals for the next couple of days, so do you think I asked my husband to make a quick stop at the store before we came home? NO! Of course not. I could just run out Monday morning and take care of that little errand. RIGHT????
WRONG! I woke up this morning to SNOW!!! It really snowed! I couldn't tell where my front curb met the street. The plows hadn't arrived to clear the roads. What in the world? How am I supposed to go to the store like this? Remember, I'm a California girl! My friend, having grown up in this area, called to check on me. She giggled as she informed me that I should always be prepared when the storm comes from the south. NOW SHE TELLS ME! I love you Beth, but couldn't you have called me yesterday?
Well, I shoveled the drive and waited for the snow plows to clear the neighborhood streets. They finally arrived after noon and out I went to the store, driving way too slow for my liking, on snowy, icy streets. How foolish could I have been?! I should have been cozied up with a good book. Instead, I had been foolishly unprepared.
I was suddenly reminded of one of Christ's parables about 10 virgins who awaited the coming of the bridegroom. Five of the girls were prepared with enough oil to keep their lamps burning no matter how long the wait. The other 5 were foolishly unprepared and eventually had to run out to buy more. While they were out, the bridegroom came, taking the 5 wise girls into the banquet. The doors to the banquet were shut and the 5 foolish virgins missed out on everything. The message: many will be unprepared and miss Christ's coming.
I was lucky; my foolish unpreparedness left me little more than inconvenienced. How sad the thought that foolish unpreparedness will cause so many to miss out on eternal life. The thought of my crazy, somewhat funny day, came to a sobering stillness. Oh God, may my heart be broken at this thought. Then came another thought. How many people will be unprepared because I didn't do my part to make sure they knew they needed to be prepared? Just like I wished Beth would have called me one day earlier, will others wish I would have told them?
Oh how I pray that every person who reads this is prepared for Christ's coming. We so often think, "I don't have to worry about that yet." Yes you do. We never know when He might return. And oh how I pray that every person who reads this is prepared for whatever Christ asks you to do today. It might be just what someone else needs to be prepared for eternity, or maybe even a snow storm. :)
I've lived in Northern VA for 3 1/2 years now. I love this area, especially having 4 distinct seasons. They did however, take a little getting used to for this CA girl. My first winter here, I discovered that as soon as the weather man suggests the tiniest bit of snowfall, everyone must make a mad dash for the grocery store to stock up on bread, milk, and any other essentials. I have to admit, I joined the mad dash. After a year or so, I realized that this was simply crazy. Come on! A dusting of snow isn't going to keep us from the store. It's not like we live in Alaska or North Dakota and are going to be snowed in for a week. Good grief! We have pretty mild winters here. So I relaxed a bit. I no longer run out to the store at the first warning of a storm. Besides, I usually have enough here to hold us over for a couple of days.
So Saturday, when I heard that there was going to be snow on Sunday, did I respond? Of course not. Did I care that this time they were calling for up to 8 inches? Yea right! I don't think we've had 8 inches of snow accumulate over the entire last year. I got up Sunday morning and went to church as usual. After church, we went out to dinner with some friends. (I just have to add that it was such a blessed and wonderful visit.) Then, while the kids played I took a nap on the couch. RELAX! Right? At about 5:30 we went to deliver my daughter's girlfriend back home on the other side of town. It was a nice family outing as the snow began to fall. Now, I knew that we were running low on milk and a few other things to make actual meals for the next couple of days, so do you think I asked my husband to make a quick stop at the store before we came home? NO! Of course not. I could just run out Monday morning and take care of that little errand. RIGHT????
WRONG! I woke up this morning to SNOW!!! It really snowed! I couldn't tell where my front curb met the street. The plows hadn't arrived to clear the roads. What in the world? How am I supposed to go to the store like this? Remember, I'm a California girl! My friend, having grown up in this area, called to check on me. She giggled as she informed me that I should always be prepared when the storm comes from the south. NOW SHE TELLS ME! I love you Beth, but couldn't you have called me yesterday?
Well, I shoveled the drive and waited for the snow plows to clear the neighborhood streets. They finally arrived after noon and out I went to the store, driving way too slow for my liking, on snowy, icy streets. How foolish could I have been?! I should have been cozied up with a good book. Instead, I had been foolishly unprepared.
I was suddenly reminded of one of Christ's parables about 10 virgins who awaited the coming of the bridegroom. Five of the girls were prepared with enough oil to keep their lamps burning no matter how long the wait. The other 5 were foolishly unprepared and eventually had to run out to buy more. While they were out, the bridegroom came, taking the 5 wise girls into the banquet. The doors to the banquet were shut and the 5 foolish virgins missed out on everything. The message: many will be unprepared and miss Christ's coming.
I was lucky; my foolish unpreparedness left me little more than inconvenienced. How sad the thought that foolish unpreparedness will cause so many to miss out on eternal life. The thought of my crazy, somewhat funny day, came to a sobering stillness. Oh God, may my heart be broken at this thought. Then came another thought. How many people will be unprepared because I didn't do my part to make sure they knew they needed to be prepared? Just like I wished Beth would have called me one day earlier, will others wish I would have told them?
Oh how I pray that every person who reads this is prepared for Christ's coming. We so often think, "I don't have to worry about that yet." Yes you do. We never know when He might return. And oh how I pray that every person who reads this is prepared for whatever Christ asks you to do today. It might be just what someone else needs to be prepared for eternity, or maybe even a snow storm. :)
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