"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
Lately it's been a struggle in life. The world seems out of control from the pandemic to the hate brewing in hearts around our country. Loved ones are struggling with physical and emotional turmoil and it tends to spill over onto those of us that care. I am not exempt from any of it, perhaps I take on the burden too much. The Bible instructs us in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yolk is easy and my burden is light." He has simply asked that I cast my cares upon him so that my burden be light and yet... I try to carry it myself and I get weighed down from it all. I pray and feel I turn it over to God and then I pick it right back up as if to say, "no God I got it" which is so far from the truth. To be honest, I don't "got it" and even to think I do is why I get myself so down.
The other day I decided to have a pity party of 1, as I like to call it. I woke wanting to cry, spent the day fighting the tears and then by evening I was emotionally depleted. My pity party of 1 turned out to be not much fun at all and was allowing me to sink further into depression and sadness. That's not a place that I like to be, and for the most part, I've never really spent much time there. If we sat down and I went through my life story with you, you may understand that I could have chosen to dwell in the sad shallows of life very easily. I could have chosen to allow all that has happened in my life to make me empty, cold and unhappy. I could have chosen to allow it to define me and create for me a completely different life than the one I have today. I could have chosen many different roads to walk down and choose to have a constant pity party of 1, but instead I chose to accept the yolk that God gave me to lighten my load. I chose to be strong and courageous, to not fear what life throws at me nor to be discouraged because I know that my God is ALWAYS near. So why the pity party at all, you may ask? Good question.
I, like most of us, am weak. I know the one who is strong and who gives me my strength to overcome life's challenges and difficulties. I realized a long time ago, that without God I am nothing but a weak earthly vessel but with him, I can do all things and can be a strong force in this life. BUT, God also knows me so intimately, that he knows that I can't do it alone. So he gave me a tribe, a wonderful God-fearing group of women that recognize when I am struggling and come alongside me to lift me back up through their prayers, their love and support. I never walk this journey alone, thanks be to God. I need my tribe and sometimes they need me. They are an incredible gift that I've been given. I pray for them daily and I know they do the same for me. They even respect that sometimes I will have my pity party of 1 and step back to let me have that time. Gently, and sometimes not so gently, they lift me back up. God knew I would need them and he graciously placed them in my life. He also gave me my Roger, who is my rock. He, I believe, often knows me better than I know myself. I am thankful that through all the choosing that I have done in life, that God too made choices for me that are for my good, he even tells us so in Jeremiah 29:11 (my life verse).
So what choices are you making in life? Are you choosing to continue to make reservations at the pity party table or are you choosing to allow God to help you rise above all the chaos and noise? Are you choosing to give your burden over to God or are you choosing to take the heavier load knowing you can't do it without him? Are you choosing to be joyous each day or are you choosing to grumble and complain and wallow in the pits that can drag one down? Life is not easy, our bodies give out, our minds can sometimes torment and our souls grow weary... but we have the choice to make to take God by the hand, stand alongside our tribes, and choose the road that he places us on where fear does not exist, courage is ours for the taking, and strength comes from the one who created us.
Under His Wings,
Heather
DEDICATED TO MY TRIBE; Laura, Tanja and Elizabeth
and to my love, Roger, who always has my back
