Handles for Today

This is my first attempt at writing during a pandemic. We are all navigating an onslaught of new experiences these days. Over the past 2 weeks I have found myself wrestling, seeking wisdom so many times, there is a part of me that is simply exhausted. The weight of the world can be on my shoulders in a matter of seconds and then Jesus’ words pop into my head, “my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). His words here are not followed by ‘except during…’ a great loss, when things are out of your control, or a pandemic, so I must claim them and stand on them as truth even today.

I don’t know about you but I am having to fight to feel ‘light’ these days. However, I am finding it is possible by God’s great mercy. This peace or ‘lightness’ isn’t going to be constant and doesn’t just fall in my lap. I must pursue it. It does not come because I am hiding under a rock and ignoring what is happening in our world (although that is a temptation of mine). As I walk through these days of uncertainty, my work is to pay attention to what is going on inside of me. I am trying to notice the anxiousness growing or the sadness welling up inside of me. One of the best ways I have found to do this is through journaling. I am simply answering the questions,

What are you angry about? What are you sad about? What are you anxious about? What are you glad about?

By pausing and investigating what is going on inside of me, I am then able to see more clearly and name what is stirring in my soul. This act of naming is powerful. It allows me to give the Lord what is really burdening me and causing me to carry a weight that isn’t mine to bare. Naming it takes away it’s power and control over me. I can then take the burden and give it to Lord. This statement is becoming common around my house, “I’ll be right back, I need to put something on God’s hook.” When I put something on His ‘hook’ that means I trust Him with it and let go. I am not meant to live tethered to so many things that are out of my control and neither are you. Christ died that we may be free. This truth is even more valuable in the midst of these uncertain times. May we be bold and courageous seeking to live in the freedom Christ paid such a high price to give us. What do you need to put on God’s hook today? He wants to carry your burdens and lighten your load.