Sunday, October 16, 2011

Come to Jesus

My friend and sister in Christ, Miesje choose this scripture passage for this week:

Matthew 11: 28 – 30 - Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

What is a burden? One definition is...something that is exacting, oppressive, or difficult to bear. When I think of burdens I think of life altering, stressful situations... like losing a loved one, dealing with a life threatening illness or losing your job. Those are definitely burdensome and by bringing them to Jesus, he will give rest for those burdens.

For me it is easier to give the really heavy burdens to God because I know I can't even begin to carry them. Where I struggle and get tripped up is with little burdens. I was thinking about a real life example to share. The other day I was bringing in the groceries. I had a 50 lb bag of dog food and some cans of soup. I knew I would struggle with the 50 lb bag, so I had my teenaged son carry it in. I took the smaller bag of cans. Definitely more managable for me. But then I got to thinking... if I held one can of soup straight out in one hand for a little while I could do it no problem, but the longer I would hold on to it the heavier it would become. It wouldn't take very long before I would no longer be able to hold the can up with just the one arm. Fatigue would set in.

So often I take the little problems and hold on to them, and before long, the stress and fatigue overwhelm me. What a great reminder this scripture is to come to Jesus and he will give us rest for even the smallest of burdens.

This is one of my favorite songs... called the UNTITLED HYMN.




Miesje gave us this challenge:
(Sharing) Use 2 of everything you use. For example: 2 Dp - 2 flowers - 2 stamps - whatever you use must be doubled.


The 2's on my card are... 2 scraps of lace (coffee stained), 2 little butterflies (Thanks Peggysue), 2 different sides of same sheet of dp, 2 sentiments, 2 long horizontal strips, 2 rectangles... and the least noticable... 2 types of adhesives (glue stick and sewing).


I made this card for someone who is carrying a big burden right now. One of the drivers that works for us was driving in a separate vehicle this week from his long time girlfriend. He noticed that she was no longer behind him and he turned around only to find that she had been in a horrific crash. He held her until she died. This man is a big man and I have seen him lift things with his one hand that most men would struggle to lift. Right now he is struggling under the weight of grief. I can only pray for him and pray that he will turn to Jesus for relief from that burden.


Our Sponsor this week is: Designed 2 Delight


Check out what my Stampin' Sisters in Christ have created...

Kris Linda Miesje Pegggysue Traci Grace

6 comments:

  1. Marilyn... thank you for today's word... you have such a practical teaching ministry and this is a message we all need to learn from. You are so right, the longer we hold onto little burdens, the heavier they too can become.

    Thank you for this wonderful insight.

    Hugs
    Wendy M xx

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  2. MariLynn you always have so much wisdom to share with us and I loved reading your thoughts today. You're so good at putting it all into today's situation and applying the Scripture to our lives! LOVE your card and I pray for your driver friend as he deals with the burden of this loss. I pray you will be given the words and insight on what you might be able to say to him to bring comfort and peace. Have a great week!
    hugs,
    Grace

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  3. Oh my I loved what you wrote! I so agree with holding on to the little worries until they become too heavy! I do that a lot (especially lately). I suppose I think that I have given over all the big stuff to God and don't want to bother him with the little worries and burdens. Great analogy with the can of soup! Love you card, such pretty colors - soft and comforting. Hope it brings some comfort to your friend!

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  4. Oh MariLynn this is such a gentle card, yet so strong. Love all your 2's. ;-)
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  5. This is such a soothing card sure to bring comfort into this man's life. I will say a prayer for him tonight...and for you to have an open door to share the love of Christ. I really liked your analogy, MariLynn...and so true!! Thanks for sharing and wishing you a very blessed week!

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  6. I have prayed for your friend this week. I so appreciate reading your thoughts on the verses selected for the SSIC challenges. And this is a lovely card, such a soothing color.

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