Have you ever woken up with a migraine? You know the kind that pushes on the front of your head and on the sides of your temples? And just when you’re waking up with this pain and discomfort you hear the pitter patters of the feet of your children or stirrings of the teenagers… And they are relying on you for the morning activities? Have you been there? That was me this morning.
I asked my husband to sit behind me and please massage my head and my shoulders hoping for relief. He asked me a simple question: “What are you carrying that God has not asked you to pick up?”I almost got a little annoyed at first because I didn’t know what I was carrying. I thought it was the paint fumes from our bathroom that we painted yesterday or the hormones that might be changing in my body. Perhaps those played a part but… Jesus showed me what was going on when I asked him what it was that I was carrying that he had not asked me to. He said gently that I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders! Then, as He so often does, Jesus began to sing the chorus of a song that I had grown up hearing. I pulled up YouTube and began playing the song: HE WILL CARRY YOU!
As my husband was sitting behind me massaging my head and praying for me, Jesus was using my imagination and spiritual eyes to show me that he was holding me and carrying me. I began finally releasing and crying. The children heard the song playing and came running into the bedroom. This was an opportunity that Jesus was actually inviting all of us to trust him and let him carry us and give us rest. They were encouraged and ran back out to continue playing their card game. I released the weight of the world and confessed that I had taken it on myself. I said, “God this is your job not mine.” He and I had a lovely conversation and my headache mostly subsided.
What are you carrying today that is not yours? God gives assignments not burdens. He said to me, “Come to me all you who are weary and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28. Our bodies talk to us and tell us things that we may not even know it is trying to tell us.
Ask the Holy Spirit today what it is you can give back to him. I was thinking that I had felt peace in the midst of all the COVID-19 ”stuff” that is going on all around us. I wasn’t being weighed down by it. I was saying that I trust Jesus in it and even teaching my kids about it and telling them they can trust Jesus in it.
Friends, the reality is that our normal way of life has changed a bit and this change can cause grief and stress. I soon began to realize that I was trying to figure life out. In addition to all the other families and situations that I intercede for, I began to realize that I was taking all of this on my shoulders. Today, I trust Jesus that I can crawl up onto his lap with all my weariness and he will give me rest. He will take the weight of the world upon his shoulders which he did at the cross. He is such a kind father. He does the same for my kids.
What is it that you or your kids might be carrying that God has never asked you to pick up? Will you release that today and find that much needed rest? Here is the song. Perhaps as you play this, close your eyes and invite the family to gather round. Let Jesus be big enough for you today. Let Him carry you and give you rest. He Will Carry You: https://youtu.be/qh3WuenttBM
Bethanne is an Inspire Missioner, and part of the Inspire for Kids and Families Team. She is mum to two children who she disciples and schools at home.
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