Gift Number Twenty Three

Yesterday i wrote about the Grace Habit which has made an incredible difference in my life. Over the last 7 years as I’ve engaged in that practice it’s continued to grow with me as has my understanding of the importance of Grace.

Back when I was in college, it felt really important to me at one point to make sure that I’d never forget what Christ did for me on the cross. So, to help me remember that I took a trip to Meijer’s Thrifty Acres near Michigan State’s campus and went to the hardware area and bought the BIGGEST nails I could find - and bought some. I started carrying a nail or two with me all the time. My mom would get so mad because of the damage these nails would cause all my jeans.

Back then, obedience was everything. I wasn’t too impressed with grace.

But now I understand that Grace is one leg and Obedience is the other. We’ll end up with a mighty weird walk with God if we only have one. It’s not enough to understand grace but not obedience. And it’s not enough to understand obedience but not grace.

The Grace Habit has also taught me that there are plenty of situations in my life that aren’t the kind of thing that I can just toss into the fire and release forever. You probably have some things in your life like that too. For me, it’s loved ones with health issues, concerns for their kids, or careers. Whatever it is, what I’m crystal clear about is that the more burden I carry, the less love and grace I carry, the more fatigued I feel. If I want to feel the way I want to feel spiritually - I have to carry only what’s best to carry. In fact, at this point, I’m certain that all we’re really capable of carrying without doing harm to ourselves is God’s love and grace. At least every time I have ever carried anything else, whether it was anger, stress, guilt, shame - whatever - it makes a real mess of things.

I don’t know about you - but I can’t just pretend I don’t care about what I in fact care about. So what do we do?

Let me introduce the burden canoe. A while back, when some pretty big things were happening in my life - they weren’t bad as much as they just were. It was my response to them that I really needed to let God work on, but the burden was just too much for me to carry - like at all. For instance - my Dad is getting older. There are just certain realities about that.

You might be happy to carry burdens all the time - but I know I’m not really made for that. And since you’re reading this I know you’re not made for it either. In our culture - we place such a high priority on having such unnatural strengths. No. Not unnatural. In-human. I mean that. Things that wear us down, exhaust us, sap our joy, drain away our hope, keep us up at night, make us feel overwhelmed, stressed, frightened, miserable - if these aren’t the very things that Jesus is referring to when He said, “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29). Peter even goes so far as to say, “Cast your cares upon Jesus” 1 Peter 5:7. But this idea goes way back - the psalmist all the way back in Psalm 55:22 says “cast all your burden upon the Lord.”

I do the grace habit sitting in nature - so I suppose me tossing my burdens into a canoe that Jesus takes off in. Maybe you’d prefer something else - a moving van, a Conestoga wagon - or some other method altogether.

All I know - is none of us is meant to carry so much. None of us can have all God wants to give us while we hold onto to so much more than we can hold. Bonus - seven years of letting go of as much as I can every day - I’ve become much better at letting go.

Let your burdens go. He will take care of them for you. He longs to give you so much more of all His blessings. It’s not just what He wants to do for you at Christmas. He wants to take your burdens off your shoulders every day. It’s why He came as a babe - so we could be His carefree children - carrying nothing but His love and Grace.

Merry Christmas, my friend!