Lighten the Load

Let’s face it- it seems like everyone around is tired. We’re all pushed in a thousand different directions, trying to keep it all together, balancing (is balance even possible??) and juggling plates- family, work, kids, finances, schedules, just life in general. 

I’m not the greatest at stress management and self care (social workers are the worst about this!) but I’m starting to recognize when I feel it rise. I can tell when my anxiety level and stress levels are high- my shoulders get tense and hurt. It’s like they physically hurt from carrying all of the things. Sometimes it feels like I’m the hamster in the wheel- it keeps spinning but I’m getting nowhere. 

I was reading Psalms last week when I was reminded (I need to be reminded a lot!) that I was never meant to carry the burdens and deal with it by myself. I’ve probably read this Psalm 68 a thousand times and I even have this next verse highlighted but it was like I was reading it for the very first time. “Praise be to the Lord, to God, our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. (emphasis mine) Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death. “ I don’t have to carry the burdens- at all. 

1. God carries our burdens daily.  The burdens are not going to go away. They may change but aren’t going to disappear completely. (John 16:33) 

2. We weren’t meant to bear them- we have a Burden Bearer-Jesus. I don’t think this needs any more explanation! 

3. We have to daily cast our burdens at the feet of Jesus.  1 Peter 5:17 tells us to “Cast all of your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.” This isn’t a suggestion or recommendation from God. It’s a command. His shoulders were big enough to carry the Cross and His shoulders are big enough to carry the weight of our burdens. 

4. Casting our burdens is a daily act of surrender.  It’s laying everything at the foot of the Cross and leaving it there. It’s realizing that He must become greater and we must become less. (John 3:30) 

So let’s lighten the load today- laying everything at Jesus’ feet. Our shoulders and hearts will thank us. 

Waiting

I’ve really got to get better at using this little space of mine- this is one of my goals while we’re on COVID-19 quarantine. School is out until mid April so I’m working from home and “home schooling” my kindergartner- I have such a great appreciation for teachers and those who homeschool!

Waiting seems to be the common theme in our life today. Waiting for the curve to flatten, waiting until life resumes some sense of normalcy (I have a feeling that this is going to give a new definition of normal), waiting for the next thing. Waiting often comes with a weight- usually we’re waiting for a burden to be lifted. Honestly, it seems like the past few years has been filled with waiting for my family- waiting to move, waiting on jobs, waiting on the adoption.

As much as I don’t like to wait, I think there are some lessons to be learned in the season of waiting.

1. We are commanded to wait on the Lord. In fact, the phrase “wait on the Lord” is mentioned in the Bible at least 40 times!! If something is important to know, it’s usually repeated. It’s how things are learned- by repetition. Psalm 27:13-14 (NIV) I remain confident in this, I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

2. We aren’t to be weak in our waiting. What I mean by this is that while we are waiting, we are to find our strength from the Lord and nothing else. That’s the only way that we can make it in the waiting. God will give us the strength to endure the “weight of the waiting”. (Isaiah 40:29)

3. Waiting isn’t passive. Just because God is calling us to wait, it doesn’t mean that we’re off the hook for doing anything.

4. God still requires action from us while we wait.

   We are to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

   We are to rejoice. Rejoice in times of suffering, times of joy. (1 Thessalonians 5:16, James 1:2-3)

   We are to remain faithful. (Hebrews 11: 6) Our waiting is just for a season. Now, some seasons may be longer than others, but just like summer in the South doesn’t last forever, seasons end.

5. God meets our needs in the waiting, even when we become weary. (Jeremiah 31:25, Isaiah 40: 29-31) He gives strength when we need it the most.

I don’t know what season of waiting you’re in, but just know that you aren’t alone in the season and it won’t last forever. Don’t waste the waiting- I promise there’s a lot that God wants to teach us!

The Year of Less

I have got to get better about posting here! It’s been very hit or miss with posting and that is not what I intended for this space- hopefully that will change this year.

I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, mainly because they fail 80% of the time and then I usually have this wake up moment 6 months into the year and remember my resolutions. I’ve also done a word of the year the past few years. Last year was intentional. I had set a few goals with that: intentional with family, my walk with the Lord, my health. The biggest result of being intentional was with my health- with the reality of blood pressure medicine at 37, I realized that something had to change. I made some pretty drastic lifestyle changes with the help of a health coach and lost 30 pounds! I still ended up having to be on blood pressure medication (thank you family history and a stressful job!) but overall, I feel so much better.

I wanted going into 2020 to be different this year, especially because I know that I’m wrapping up my 30’s and 40 is quickly approaching for my husband and me (but he gets there first this year- I have another year!) All of my grandparents lived well into their 80’s and I know that we never know how long we’ll live, but it’s quite possible I’ll live past 80 if Jesus doesn’t come back first. So I’ve essentially lived half of my life. As I was reflecting on the last decade, I realized that there was a lot of life and living packed into ten years and really into the last 30.

I’ve been thinking about how I wanted to end my 30’s and enter the next half of my life. The word “less” kept coming to mind. I know that minimalism is the all the rage now and believe me, there are times when I want to just get rid of all the stuff in my house. However, I began thinking outside the box of “less.” To have less to have more of what really matters.

Less and More

• worrying and anxiety, more praying and faith

• checking out on social media, more focused on the people right in front of me

• distracted living, more being present in my life- I don’t want to miss anything!

• buying stuff, more being content with what I have

• complaining and griping, more gratitude and joy

• listening to the world, more of really listening to the Lord

I could go on and on but you get the picture. Life is too short to be focused on the more. A few days after Christmas, I saw on FB where a friend of mine passed away suddenly. I literally lost my breath for a minute when I saw her husband’s post. They were cottage parents at one time at the children’s home where I used to work and we both had a passion for foster care and adoption- they had adopted a sibling group from foster care. I have loved reading Joseph’s posts on FB about Stephanie and her faith. Their family was planning to go full time living in an RV, traveling the country and homeschooling. They were planning to put their house on the market a few weeks after she passed away and had literally sold almost everything they owned. Now a father was having to start over with 4 children- living a life that none of them had planned. Talk about living with less, but really living with so much more- the hope of Jesus Christ.

John 3:30 says “He must become greater, I must become less.” I’ve been reminded through this verse that less really is more.