“Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls”
Hello hello my friends, no I have not forgotten about you! I have just been all over the place. The verse above is Matthew 11:28-29 and really resonated with me this morning as I sat down to fill you in on all my comings and goings from the past few months. Sometimes, life can feel so overwhelming there are so many things to get done, so much busyness, things grabbing for your attention, stress, wanting to be that person who can help everyone but knowing and having to accept your limits, comparison, realizing that community is positive and wonderful but also comes hand in hand with conflict and frustration, dealing with the reality that many things are out of your control – you can fill out the right forms, communicate clearly, hand things in on time but at the end of the day you just have to wait and pray…
It’s easy to feel beat up, discouraged, not good enough especially if you forget to keep yourself yoked (aka connected) to the Lord. God uses the Bible to literally tell you “Come to me.” The Message (a translation of the Bible that uses a more contemporary language) says:
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”
I don’t know about you, but when I read that first opening I was like “Tired? Yes… Worn out? Yes… Religion? YES!!!” An escape with the Lord and real rest sounds pretty appealing at the moment! So maybe you’re asking, “great where do I find the Lord and get me some rest?!” Well, the easiest place is none other than the Bible! Taking some time to go through the Bible and apply what you’re reading; to recognize that your worth doesn’t come from what social media or others say, but rather, recognizing that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) God made you special! There is purpose for you! You were meant for something meaningful! Huzzah!! You’re on the road to rest!
These past few months I have been to camps, conferences, meetings, evaluations, traveling…
…visiting host families and mentors, becoming part of the mobilization team leadership for the Missions Cooperation in Costa Rica (CMC)…
…Assisting a young family dealing with the husband/father’s aggressive cancer, more meetings! Hosting visitors, keeping up to date with my striders, prepping for the Step teams and new Striders!
Being in a wedding party, tending the garden, getting myself a flight to Canada! Not to mention English classes, translating for a visiting team from Canada, doing some conflict resolution… ooh! Dare I go on?!?
It’s no wonder I’ve been feeling a little tired…all the more reason to celebrate that my friend is coming on Saturday to take me to the beach for 5 days!!! She surprised me last week! As someone who struggles to vacation this couldn’t have come at a better time!
- After 7 years of pain with a glomus tumour (not dangerous, just painful) in my thumb I was blessed by a kind member of my LAM family donating Photo Light Therapy to me so that, Lord willing, I will no longer have to deal with the piercing pain and distracting discomfort! I started my first session yesterday! Please pray for complete and speedy healing,
- For safety during my impromptu minibreak next week, may it be a time filled with joy, real rest, refreshing!
- For the many refugees who are without homes and food, particularly those coming to Costa Rica from Nicaragua and Venezuela. May the Lord show me how to get Latin Link Costa Rica involved!
- Continued safety and growth for our Striders as they continue to learn how to navigate being in a different culture and all that that entails. May they continue to search for God in all circumstances and be open to what God is trying to teach them!
Thank you again for being so wonderful! I appreciate each and every one of you who takes the time to support and connect with me! If you are in the lower mainland I will be there, Lord willing!!! So if you’d like to hang out, introduce me to your pastor, have me speak at an event or really anything else let me know and we can put something in the books! May the Lord bless you and keep you safe! I’m really looking forward to seeing many of you in a few months time!
Big hugs!
