I think it’s deep enough into January for me to admit that I’m not going to make those well intentioned resolutions stick. And if I want to get philosophical I might admit to my lack of commitment, or my lack of energy, or my lack of discipline, or…well my lack. At the end of my reflection I have come to the conclusion that whatever I try to do on my own power is bound to poop-out over time. Sometimes a very short time. But that’s where my basket comes in.
It’s not a physical basket like the kind that could be filled with delicious bread rolls (which is also not on my New Year’s resolution diet) but a conceptualized basket that holds things that are too much for me to bear.
Someone bugging me at work? I put it into my basket. Spousal issues? Into the basket. Kids acting crazy? Into the basket it goes.
When I begin to place my list of concerns and problems into my basket, my world becomes a better place, and not because I’m shirking on my responsibilities; rather I am placing them into more capable hands, the hand of God. It is our Lord who says in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Here is the one and only, all-powerful, God of the universe offering us a break from all of the weighty concerns this life promises. So why are we exhausting ourselves carrying burdens that our Lord has offered to carry for us?
Imagine how our day would go if our focus is off of basket issues, and redirected toward doing His work instead? And according to Matthew 11:30 His “yoke is easy, and his burden is light.”
We have a saying in the Thompson home, “You can do it the hard way, or you can do it God’s way.”
Which will you choose?
Leave a Reply