AT EASE!
Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)
For Day 7 of #write28days, the prompt is ease. What comes to mind when you hear this call: At ease! I think of soldiers standing at attention and then relaxing their stance. How does that translate into our everyday lives? Are we “standing at attention” all the time, not able to be at ease? Or are we able to “relax our stance?” It’s hard in these times when everyone is so busy.
Even when we think we are trusting God our burdens can still feel heavy. We may not be aware of all that we are holding, but it shows up in different ways physically. Most of the time my shoulders are tight, which is where all the tension settles. Even when I’m not thinking of all the issues facing family or friends, the tension is there.
There are many ways to help relieve some of our tension. In my case, I do Pilates almost every day to help me relax and also find more mobility and strength. When I set aside even 15 minutes a day, I notice a difference. I also work in my art journal or write poetry.
All those things are helpful, but what helps the most is when I take God at His word and pour out my heart to Him.
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah.
(Psalm 62:8)
Sometimes I combine poetry, prayer and scripture. It helps remind me that my strength is in God as in this poem I wrote today.
PUT YOUR BURDENS DOWN AND REST
At ease! Comes the cry
Put your burdens down and rest
In the arms of love
I hear the kind words
A welcome balm to my soul
Yet I am still tense
What am I to do?
Burdens heavy upon me
Clinging so tightly
My body is tense
I cannot do it alone
Where is the release?
At ease! Comes the cry
Assuring my weary soul
I am not alone
Jesus stands waiting
Come to me and rest, He said
Give me your burden
The burden eases
I’m not ready to let go
My grip grows stronger
Jesus is patient
He knows the struggle I have
Understands my pain
At ease! Comes the cry
Put your burdens down and rest
In the arms of love
Finally, I see
I don’t have to keep striving
Jesus is my strength
Letting go is hard
Yet when I release my grip
The heavy weight lifts
Peace floods through my soul
Though problems don’t go away
Jesus lifts the load
At ease! Came the call
I listened, responded, and
Trusted in the Lord
Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
(Matthew 11:28-30
I’m linking up with: #TeaAndWord
Thank you dear Gayl. Your beautiful poem and Scriptures were just what I needed tonight! I pray He blesses you with such comfort and rest as you shared with all of us.
Thank you, Bettie. I’m so glad your were encouraged tonight. You are a dear friend, and I thank God for you. Blessings and love! xoxo
Gayl, your post is very lovely and your beautiful poem comforting.
Mitzy, thank you so much! I’m glad you were comforted. Blessings to you!
Beautiful poem, and I love the scriptures you chose. (And the little snowflakes that fall down your blog! Beautiful! 🙂 )
Thank you, Amy. I’m glad you enjoyed it all. Blessings to you!
Jesus! Our burden lifter. Oh how I recognize what you share here. And how powerful is His abiding Word speaking in us!!!
But it also made me wonder about a possible edit to your poem to reflect His work that you capture so beautifully:
Jesus is my strength
Letting go is hard
Yet when Jesus releases my grip
The heavy weight lifts
Yes, His Word is powerful working in us and through us as He gives us strength and grace and peace, etc.
I don’t think I need to change to poem, because it’s clear that Jesus is my strength. Yet sometimes I try to hold on rather than let Him take it, so that’s what I was trying to convey. I think many of us struggle at times with that. We think we’ve given the burden to Him, but we try to take it back because we take our eyes off Him and think it’s up to us. Praise God, He is patient with us. He doesn’t force us but enables us to let go of our burdens and hold onto Him.
Blessings, love and hugs to you, dear friend! xoxo