Early spring always brought trailers loaded with seed and fertilizer. Hopefully, the trucks arrived in the cool of the morning We didn’t have forklifts to unload the truck; we had Robert and the other men at the farm. I liked the seed delivery better because of the smaller 30-pound bags. Fertilizer came in 65- & 90-pound bags. I was foolish enough to think I could carry more than anyone else. But Finus, one of dad’s favorite employees, would tell the guy loading a bag on his shoulder, “give me another…I can beat college boy.” He was strong as an ox. His strength came from “working out,” not in the gym, but in the harshness of life.

I grew up thinking it was manly to carry a heavy load. This approach developed into my default for all aspects of my life. Whatever it was, I would say, “give me another bag…I can carry it.”

I thought I had changed this thinking on 9.20.1984 when I came to the Lord broken from the load. I had asked Him to come into my life, and He took the load I gave Him. But as the years went by, I noticed the old pattern of holding onto different loads resulting in anxiety, stress, and failure. Then there He was. Tenderly & firmly, helping me up and saying, “Let’s try that again.” Welcome to God School. Where learning never stops until you graduate.

Yesterday, at Sunday School we were studying Joshua 7. Joshua, God’s Mighty Man, had sent spies into Ai. Following a good report, he had used a smaller army to attack what was thought to be an easy victory. They were routed. As you read the chapter one thing is missing, they didn’t “inquire” with God, the Commander-In-Chief. Joshua & the nation of Israel tried to carry the load without God. They had good intentions but poor thinking.

Then I noticed on the whiteboard what my dear friend had written earlier that morning, “Peace comes when you let God hold what you are trying to carry.” BAM! Jesus said it this way in Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me all of you who are tired from the heavy burden you have been forced to carry. I will give you rest. Accept my teaching. Learn from me. I am gentle and humble in spirit. And you will be able to get some rest. Yes, the teaching that I ask you to accept is easy. The load I give you to carry is light.”

This time of the year can bring enormous stress from extra financial and time demands. I highly recommend going to Him in the cool of the morning. Spend time with Him. Give Him your load. Ask the Holy Spirit to, “Lord, help me learn Your ways. Show me how You want me to live. Guide me and teach me Your truths. You are my God, my Savior. You are the one I have been waiting for.” Psalm 25:4-5 (ERV)

Don’t spend this Christmas with a knot in your stomach from trying to do it all. Focus on the gift that keeps on giving. It’s our precious gift from the Our Heavenly Father who loves you.

“Yes, God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him would not be lost but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world. He did not send Him to judge the world guilty, but to save the world through Him.” Johns 3:16-17

Merry Christmas.