Lighten the Load

 

By Andrea Merrell

Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 NKJV

 

I have a couple of family members who are certified hoarders. One collects newspapers and old books that are literally stacked to the ceiling, barely leaving a path from the front door through the living room.

The other has accumulated enormous piles of clothes, toys, kitchen items, and other paraphernalia that eat up all the floor space in her house.

I personally cannot handle clutter. In fact, the older I get, the less stuff I want. It’s getting easier as the days go by to downsize and lighten the load. To get rid of things I don’t need. Things I don’t enjoy that don’t add value to my life or make me happy.

I wish it were as easy to declutter the mind. Those random thoughts, problems, and issues from the past that shoot through my head and try to take up residence. If I’m not careful, they clutter my mind and take my focus off the Lord, putting it on all the wrong things. They make me anxious and even fearful. The load can get very stressful and quite heavy.

In Jesus Calling, Sarah Young writes:

Your mind leaps from problem to problem to problem, tangling your thoughts in anxious knots … When you turn from your problems to My presence, your load is immediately lighter. ~Jesus

Jesus invites us to cast all our care on Him (1 Peter 5:7). The Passion translation says, “Pour out all your worries and stress upon Him and leave them there.”

Sounds like a good plan. I’m ready to lighten the load and keep things simple. Won’t you join me?

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash