Rest for the Weary

(This was originally written by me 3 years ago.) I have often wondered what the passage, Matthew 11:29-30 "for His yoke is easy and His burden is light", looks like in real life.  We have been extremely busy this summer, especially the last month. Also, a new thing for me,  I now have a garden and everything is coming in, so I have spent lots of time canning and preserving those fruits and vegetables. I felt that this was all very worthwhile work for my family. We also just moved, so I have been getting our home in order along with preparing and preserving food.  Because of all of this, I have let my time with the Lord and His ministry go by the wayside.

  Last week, I was an absolute bear to be around, even I knew it, but didn't know what to do about it. I prayed constantly, while I was busy, that God would give me peace and patience with my family. Almost nothing had gone right and I kept getting bumps, burns, cuts, you name it.

 Today, God revealed to me that I was out of His will, after I bruised my leg and cried out to Him saying " I am tired of hurting”. During my devotion God took me straight to the verse in Matthew I mentioned. I have been carrying my heavy, awkward and clumsy yoke. No wonder I kept getting hurt. As soon as I read this I realized what this verse looks like in life. When we go about our days doing our thing and not looking to be in God's will or asking for His will, life gets hard. Carrying Jesus' yoke means taking Him by the hand daily and walking in his will.

 Taking Him by the hand involves, saying here I am Lord, here is my hand, please guide me through this day. Part of that is daily reading His word. Now, was I wrong in doing all of the work that I was doing for my family? No way! I was wrong to not include making time for the Lord along with that other work.

 As for our other ministries, that takes getting things balanced. We need to set our lives up so that when extras come along, like Garden harvest, we aren’t over extended. Involving God in our lives, as we say Yes and no to different opportunities is key. Pray, Pray, Pray! Put down that heavy yoke you carry and seek out the lighter one. Then you will find rest.

Jeannie