Have you ever felt like Bilbo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings? The other night I did. I came to the end of a long day full of worries about health, family, finances. You name it, I was worried. I approached my bedside to pray feeling weary, yearning so much for a break, for peace, for rest.
As I knelt, I contemplated some scriptures my husband and I had been talking earlier:
"Come all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30)."
The real question is, how do we come to Christ and let him shoulder our burdens. Part of this scripture gives the answer: Learn of him! When we learn of him, we know that he is a God of love, mercy, kindness, justice, compassion, wisdom. We know that he can strengthen us and help us carry our load. He won't always remove the load, because we need it to grow. But he can help us bear up the burdens that are placed on our backs, just like he helped Alma's people while they were being held captive (see Mosiah 24:14-15).
As I started my prayers that night, I prayed for the Lord to strengthen my back and my shoulders to be able to bear the burdens I'm facing right now. Even as I prayed, I felt the Lord make me stronger. Hope began to replace fear, and courage began to replace discouragement.
Yes! Some days by the end, I feel like I've been pulled like taffy until I nearly broke. What a wonderful reminder.
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