Today is what I would consider a perfect one.  It’s raining outside,  I don’t have to leave my warm home, candles are flickering, and I have an opportunity to write. Even better is the prediction for snow which brings cause for even more hibernation and snuggling down. The only problem with this forecast is its possibility to interfere with a much-anticipated women’s conference hosted by our church. Trusting God to work that out.  He has a plan.

If the snow forecast is accurate, this will be two consecutive years of measurable snow which is not the norm in Mississippi.  As I look outside at the fledgling trees in my backyard I am reminded of how we almost lost them in last year’s snowfall.

We were so enthralled by the beauty of the swirling flurries blanketing the ground that we paid no attention to how the weight of the snow was affecting these trees. Once we realized that branches were becoming bent to the point of breaking, we went into action relieving them of the unexpected weight of the snow. Our trees survived!

Distraction.  In this case it was beauty that distracted us from a preventable problem. What is distracting you from acknowledging the weight on the branches of your life…your home, your family, your job. Sadly, as it is the norm for people to boast of their busyness these days, we follow the trend.  Mistakenly in that busyness people think there is significance, importance.

When the weight of our life choices overwhelm us we reach for a pill to calm the anxiety, reverse the depression, help us sleep. We calm ourselves with food or alcohol all because we’ve piled on burdens God never intended for us to carry,  whether self-imposed or life-imposed. Stop the insanity!

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.  (Psalm 55:22)

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.  (1 Peter 5:7)

Pause for a moment of self-examination.  If you keep running from reality, these burdens will continue to rob you of the peace that is yours in Christ.  May be time to shake a few things off your overloaded life and seek God’s direction.

Same rule applies to those overwhelming life situations that so often come our way.  Don’t be so distracted by the magnitude of the problem that you forget to give it to God. He is not surprised by the problem or worried about the solution.  He has all the answers you need and the grace to walk  you through whatever it may be.  Just do the right thing on the front end and save yourself from even coming close to that breaking point. I write this because I have lived it and learned from it and continue to learn.

I leave you with the chorus of the hymn “Leave It There.”  Let go and let God! To God Alone Be the Glory!

Leave it there, leave it there,
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there;
If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out—
Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.