Recently I learned that a man who used to rent a house in our neighborhood had passed after having had a heart attack. He had been terribly burdened by at least one addiction and very poor health. Eventually even keeping a roof over his head proved to be too much. Nonetheless, most of us in the neighborhood had liked him. As one neighbor put it, "I think at the bottom of his heart, he liked people. He could not get his life together, but I think at the bottom of it all, he was a good man."
Since that conversation, I have been thinking of the heart as a basket that periodically needs cleaning out. There are many ways to do this sort of housekeeping: prayer, meditation, or even a good conversation are some of the ways we can lighten the load we are carrying. It is important that we find a way to do this. Sometimes we need to hand our burdens over, or at least set them down for awhile. We just don't need to carry it all, and truly, we cannot. Some burdens are for God alone. It really is possible to lighten up, and even discover some long forgotten goodness stuffed at the bottom of an over-weighted heart.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden light.
- Matthew 11:28- 30
Go with God, my friend. You can now travel light.
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