The Burden Is Light

Posted on by Michele Morin

“Even my sink is full today!”  I grouched, pouring another wire basket of tomatoes into the path of the running water.  There were cucumbers on the counter, beans in the garden that needed to be picked . . . and no time to do it all.

I love my garden — although sometimes this is not obvious by my response to its bounty. And this actually casts me in an extremely unflattering light, because it’s a pretty straightforward attitude adjustment that is needed:  Look at the time crunch, the space constraints, the sheer labor of dealing with it all . . . but then shake myself into the realization that this is abundance I am grousing about, a gift from God’s good hand of plenty.

If only my heart were so quick to see the truth about all my “burdens.”

Samuel Rutherford, a Scottish pastor, theologian, and author from the 17th century had this to say:

“How sweet a thing were it for us to make our burdens light by framing our hearts to the burden and making our Lord’s will a law.”

How different the sounds from my kitchen would be if I just got under the load gladly. That “frame of heart” would radically change me, and my perception of the burden.

The Mudroom

Today, I’m over at The Mudroom writing about Disquietude, Distress, and Dread. Can my perspective really make a difference in how well I handle suffering? Join me in The Mudroom to read more . . .

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a teacher, blogger, reader, and gardener who finds joy in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty years, and together they have four sons, two daughters-in-love, three grandchildren, and one lazy St. Bernard. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook or Twitter.

18 thoughts on “The Burden Is Light”

  1. It is uncanny, or perhaps not, considering we are indwelt by the same Spirit, but I lay in bed this morning mulling once again Mt.28:10–Jesus’ invitation for us to share His yoke and find our burden easy and light. It seems this is the meditation of my life! Trying to really figure out what this looks like in day to day living. Then I opened your post ( : Thanks for sharing so vulnerably your life and thoughts. I am learning that it is not having ‘so much to do’ that burdens me, as at this stage in my life I am relatively free to do whatever I please. It is myself and the expectations and burdensome beliefs I harbor that create the burden. It is my own sense of ‘responsibility’, the ‘shoulds’ and the stifling fears and guilts of untried things…these are the ballast that keep me from soaring carefree and ‘serving the Lord with gladness’. Giving thanks in the process of life is a great help toward living light and care-free. Thanks again for bringing these good thoughts to my attention!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Linda, you are so generous with your thoughts and your comments, and I appreciate knowing that I’m not alone in this tendency to heap “ballast” (great word) upon my soul. Gratitude is buoyancy for sure.

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    2. Linda, you are so generous with your thoughts and your comments. It is so great to know that I am not alone in this tendency to heap “ballast” upon my life. And, yes, gratitude gives buoyancy every time.

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  5. Such a good reminder to shift our thinking! Thank you for this reframing to focus on the good God has blessed us with. I’m visiting from #inspirememonday

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Attitude? We pick today to talk about attitude? Today is my day to feel behind, overwhelmed and in desperate need of rest. So, just before clicking on your post to read from Inspire Me Monday, I went out to my deck and sat in the sun and took deep breaths. I shifted my attitude. Oh the coincidences that God must have so much fun with!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Lately when I return to the house with onions, carrots, a few tomatoes and eggs – whatever’s left of the harvest, really. I push myself to really look at it and imagine how I would make it stretch if it was all I had to feed my family with. SO many people have lived that way and still do, it really helps change my perspective. For me, perspective is often revelatory and key.

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  9. I pray this for myself, Michele: “If only my heart were so quick to see the truth about all my ‘burdens.'” Michael Hyatt put it this way, changing my “have to” to “get to.” Our blessings are something we get to steward. Thank you, Michele, for sharing your heart at #IntentionalTuesday on Intentionally Pursuing. : )

    Liked by 1 person

  10. The past couple of weeks… they’ve been so difficult for me.

    But, you know, they could have been worse. Because we’ve been through hard stuff before, I’ve been learning just that- to deal with these troubles gladly and with trust that He’s got it under control even when I don’t. It was like I was being prepared for this new challenge of the past few weeks. God and His ways- they never stop amazing me.

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    1. Ally, it sounds to me as if you have let God frame your heart to the burden at hand. He does have everything under control, but sometimes everything feels like chaos from our perspective. I am blessed and encouraged by your quiet confidence.

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