I emailed a friend this morning and I thought you may (or may not ;) want to read it...
I read a story in a book?/Bible study? The book may have been Having a Mary Heart in a Marths's World.
It told a fictional story of God telling a man to carry a stone to the top of a hill. He was excited to do such a task for God, he had the time and God had given him the energy and the tools (wheelbarrow) he needed and he joyfully set out on his journey. It was an easy job and a beautiful day...
Along the way, he met a friend and when the friend found out the man was going to the top of the hill he asked if the man would also take a stone that he needed to get to the top. The man eagerly agreed, he could see that his friend was really busy and the man was going anyway, so it wouldn't be much extra trouble.
Then a little while later he ran into another friend who also needed something taken to the top of the hill...and another. The man agreed and set out once again. The wheel barrow was getting heavier, the day was getting hotter and the man began to worry that he wasn't going to make it to the top of the hill. He began complaining to God about this LOAD that he had been given.
God said to the man, "Wait a minute! The stone I gave you to carry was perfectly fit for you. I gave you the talent, the strength, the tools you needed and you were joyful as long as you were doing the work I gave you to do. It wasn't until you started doing the work that I gave others to do that it became such a chore."
{Somewhere I learned that there is a difference between a load and a burden, one of them we're supposed to help others with and the other we are not - can't remember that detail either ;) and I'm not trying to say that we should never help someone else.}
This is not to say that everything God gives us to do will be easy, on the contrary, many things He gives us will be very hard. But He will give us what we need when we need it, or we will learn the lesson of turning to Him and letting Him carry the load. Sometimes, when we turn to Him, He will lead us around the storm or He may choose to lead us right through the middle of it. :
Isaiah 43:2: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers they will not overflow you: when you walk through the fire you will not be burned, neither will the flame kindle upon you.
Notice these verses say when you pass through fire and rivers not if you pass through. I believe that at times He does give us more than we can handle so we will turn to Him.
We can't be all things to all people and we can interfere with God's work if we take on tasks that He didn't intend for us to take on.
In our society we get locked on our "to-do" list like a hamster on a wheel and we totally burn out. Our adrenal glands can't keep up with stress we put on them day after day. They were created to kick in extra hard when we're being chased by a tiger, yet we create lives that put them in that "being chased" mode all day every day. = Chronic fatigue, inflammation, weight gain/loss, heart issues, acid reflux, anxiety issues. Then we pile on all of the prescriptions to take care of these physical ailments which can cause a brand new batch of issues. (I'm not anti- medicine, there is a time and a place for them - they have saved/prolonged/improved countless lives. I just think it's important to look at the root causes of our issues and start there when trying to heal.)
Take some time today to stare out of the window - or better yet, go outside - take several deep breaths (hopefully you will feel your pulse slow down) and appreciate the beauty that God has given us to bask in every day - it's His gift...what you see in your own back yard is God's way of saying, "I love you your name here"
And those few things that may have been left undone while you were out there will probably not even matter a year from now.
Cultivate a Mary's Heart...
In Love,
In Love,
Sissy
