“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Kind of a strange verse to ponder this time of year, isn’t it? The beginning of a thing is typically when you’re raring to go, bursting with enthusiasm and energy. And yet this verse keeps surfacing in my spirit.
And They’re Off!
Maybe it’s all the “Ten Things You Must Do This Year” lists mixed with the “Five Habits You Need to Leave Behind” lists on top of our own hopes for better that leave us overwhelmed by the magnitude of it all?
When you think about it, we’ve been feasting and gathering with family and friends right up to New Year’s Eve. Did we really think when the clock struck midnight we’d suddenly crave healthy foods and cardio? Or read five chapters in our Bible every day when maybe we were hard pressed to read any of it, any day?
Whoa, Nellie!
In all the flurry of excitement, it’s easy to go into attack mode. To “make happen” what we envision.
But busyness without boundaries leads to burnout. Not every good idea is a God idea and every God idea isn’t for right now.
Overarching change happens one step at a time over days, weeks, and months. This is real life, folks, not a movie.
I’m excited about projects in the works for this year, but I’ve already had to tell myself to slow down. There’s a certain amount of grace given for each day. When I exceed it, I feel a heaviness, and my family experiences my grumpiness. The burden comes from being busy doing what people say I should do, instead of hearing what Jesus says.
Chill Out!
Without Him, I can’t do anything. And why would I want to? So, it’s a constant turning from the noise and coming to Jesus, to get His instruction and learn from Him. And then I chill out, because flowing with Jesus isn’t stressful, though always successful.
Are you easing into New Year plans or are you moving full steam ahead? Let’s chat in the comments…
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